Weathering COVID-19: Small and Micro Businesses in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a wave of disruption, leaving no corner untouched. While the world focused on the health crisis, a quieter battle unfolded on the streets of Pakistan. Small and micro enterprises, the lifeblood of the nation’s economy, faced an unprecedented challenge. As we delve into the depths of their struggles, it becomes evident […]
Eco-Green Teens Project: Empowering Nigerian Youth for Sustainable Agriculture
The Covid-19 pandemic had a socio-economic impact on the Nigerian economy, which led to increased food prices making basic staple foods (maize, cowpea, green leafy vegetable etc.) difficult to access for both low and middle-income classes [1]. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also predicted that over 19 million Nigerians would face food insecurity in […]
Supporting Waitrose Workers in Kenya Through the Pandemic
Farm Africa has been partnering with the Waitrose & Partners Foundation in Kenya since 2017 and supports the delivery of projects with 12,000 workers across seven vegetable and flower farms in the Waitrose supply chain. Projects are funded by sales of Foundation produce and supplier farms in the UK and it is the workers themselves […]
How COVID-19 has accelerated financial inclusion and reinforced the need for digitalisation
Two billion people across the globe lack access to formal financial services and approximately 90% of these live in developing countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated growth but also increased the danger that those at the very margins of society, could get left behind. Comic Relief and Jersey Overseas Aid share findings from a new study, […]
Refocus, retool, reset: insights from a COVID-19 rapid response & recovery programme
MSMEs, especially those led by women, youth, ethnic minorities, and migrants, were significantly impacted by COVID-19 with 70-80% facing major financial difficulties[1]. To support entrepreneurs to survive and even thrive in the pandemic, YBI members and delivery partners provided in-depth services through a rapid response & recovery programme to 145,738 entrepreneurs- with 77% reporting improved […]
The role of social procurement for inclusive value chains
By definition, social procurement leverages the purchasing power of companies to achieve broader social impact objectives. It goes beyond responsible sourcing which integrates and manages ESG criteria into the procurement process. Instead, it focuses on buying goods, materials, or services from social businesses with the explicit intention to create net positive impact. Why is that […]
The pandemic, supply chains and gendered impacts
The Covid pandemic has had a profound impact on women across all dimensions of economic and social activity, finds briefing paper. From shifting gender roles in the household to the consequences on women’s roles within the economy to the health and well-being effects of the pandemic, the impact on women has been overwhelming. ISEAL, with […]
4 Pillars for Rebuilding Better
Over half of young people think that humanity is doomed, according to a new climate change survey. Since I was born just over 50 years ago, global surface temperatures have risen faster than in any other 50-year period over the past 2,000 years. Clearly, my generation has a lot to answer for. At the same time, the pandemic […]
World Population and Gender Equality in the Post-Covid Era
The pandemic has caused international upheaval in terms of development aid and gender equality. At a time when low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) need more support than ever before, it has been even more challenging to get the needed funding and assistance. Girls and women in LMICs have been the most impacted, facing challenges ranging […]
Community-based healthcare for COVID response: option or necessity?
When COVID-19 hit a population of 170 million in Bangladesh, the consequences undoubtedly seemed grim. As of 11 March 2021, there are almost 600,000 confirmed cases of infection and 8,489 deaths. Yet transmission control remains a challenge and cases remain underreported, mainly due to the following three factors: (i) Lack of awareness and COVID-19-compliant behaviour: Afzal, […]
Collaborating beyond COVID-19: How Business Can Go Beyond the Bottom Line
In our current times, the balance between profit and purpose has never been more tested than during the current global health crisis which we presently face. As much as the pandemic has affected communities, cultures and countries across the world, it has impacted people on a personal level and shifted the perspective on international cooperation, […]
Rudderless COVID recovery: We need a real road map from somebody
As the days get longer in the Northern Hemisphere, hope for global control of COVID-19 seems both nearer and more elusive. The U.S. and UK have vaccinated more than half of their populations and begun to re-open their economies. The rest of Europe is catching up. The East Asian economic powers are also doing well, though there has been worrisome news from Osaka, Japan’s second […]
A New Report Shows How COVID-19 Has Challenged Farmers and Entrepreneurs. Here’s How the Private Sector Can Help.
When COVID-19 began to sweep across the world a year ago, it became clear that farmers, agribusinesses, and entrepreneurs in Latin America, Africa, and South Asia would face disruptions to their livelihoods. But to effectively respond to the crisis, it was important to know exactly how they were being impacted: which challenges were affecting them […]
Examples from the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark COVID-19 study: How some companies are responding to the crisis in a meaningful way
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit businesses hard, wiping out the equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020 alone – four times more than the 2009 financial crisis. Unskilled labourers, minorities and women have been particularly hard hit. In February 2021 the World Benchmarking Alliance released a COVID-19 and human rights study of the same 229 […]
Business and COVID-19 One Year On
COVID-19 has impacted us all, but the most severe impacts are being felt by the most vulnerable people. On March 12 2020, Business Fights Poverty launched a programme to accelerate global learning and local action to support the most vulnerable people and enterprises in companies’ value chains, communities and beyond. We started by developing a Response Framework with […]
SEMINAR VIDEO: WHY IS THE PANDEMIC DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS?
PROFILE Ute Stephan is Professor of Entrepreneurship at King’s College London, Visiting Professor (Organizational Psychology) at TU Dresden, Germany, Honorary Professor at Aston Business School and at UCL, and a Fellow of the International Association of Applied Psychology. WHAT THIS SESSION COVERS In this session Professor Ute Stephan talks about her research project on Entrepreneurship […]
Why some companies leapt to support the COVID-19 response
Many companies acted to assist the public response to the pandemic. Companies that already had established relationships with community organizations, governments, business partners, or others, leveraged those connections to channel resources. High risk and poor coordination impeded many companies’ early response. The first phase of the COVID-19 crisis posed an unprecedented challenge for the private […]
Protecting the Most Vulnerable: A Business Response Framework
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is creating the worst humanitarian and economic crisis in a generation, threatening the lives, livelihoods and learning of people around the world. Government leadership is crucial, but companies and civil society organizations also have a vital role in working together to respond to the immediate crisis and develop plans for […]
