New Blogger: Carmen Niethammer via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Measuring Impact via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Evaluating creative capitalism via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
The future of social enterprise via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
What is corporate social responsibility for? via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
UNDP discovers the private sector via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) just launched its growing inclusive markets initiative, part of its work to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (Hat tip: NextBillion.net). I have to say that this is a welcome, although perhaps overdue, development. The UNDP has released a report called Creating Value for All along with a series of case studies and (although not yet up on their website) heat maps that provide data on basic infrastructure and services among the poor. (One of the heat maps from the report is pictured below. It shows the share of poor households in South Africa with access to a cell phone.)
While the main thrust of the Creating Value for All report is the need to extend the benefits of markets to the poor, the report also sounded some cautionary... Russian CSR - no longer a contradiction in terms? via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Patience needed at the base of the pyramid via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Discussion of business models targeting the poor as producers and consumers often centers on the same limited number of examples. Why are more initiatives not going to scale or getting noticed? In part, we may simply have unreasonable expectations. Market innovations from the Post It Note to bagless vacuum cleaners took years to come to market and win over consumers. If the normal R&D time frame is 7-10 years, why should we expect base of the pyramid models to deliver results in 6-12 months? Analysis, such as that of the BoP Protocol from the team at Cornell University, suggests adapting existing models is not enough. Total innovation is best to build new markets with the poor. That takes time.
This R&D issue was raised repeatedly by faculty and... Microfinance is the new subprime via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
I don't usually look to Time Magazine for insightful reporting on development issues, so I was a bit surprised when I ran across this recent article on microfinance. Titled "The Big Trouble in Small Loans," the article takes a look at the increasing commercialization of the microfinance industry. According to the article:Microfinance, once a relative cottage industry championed by antipoverty activists and development wonks, is on the verge of a revoluation, with billions of dollars from big banks, private-equity shops and pension funds pouring in, driving growth of 30% to 40% a year. Financiers are convinced that there's huge money to be made in microfinance.If a topic makes it into Time Magazine, you know it must be part of the mainstream, no longer a "cottage... Climate, Trees, and People in the Peruvian Amazon: Toward a Sustained Rainforest Movement via It's Getting Hot In Here
While many adults in the US are still in a state of denial over global warming, young schoolchildren in villages deep in the Peruvian Amazon are learning about the effects climate destabilization is likely to have on their way of life.
That’s just one thing I learned during a recent three-week trip to the Loreto region (northeast corner) of Peru, with a Peace and Conflict Studies class from Pacific University in Oregon. We spent much of our time in Peru staying in small villages, where we learned about the culture and way of life of the people there – as well as the threats they are likely to face in coming years. Based on my, admittedly very brief, exposure to life in Peru’s Amazon, it seems climate destabilization is not a “debated” issue there; people in the rainforest... Celebrating World Environment Day via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
June 5, official World Environment Day, has come and gone, and you???re probably wondering how you can make good on those green resolutions you made. If you shop online, there is a webtool out there made just for you. It???s called Scryve, and it provides ratings on companies based on their social and environmental policies. The best part of Scryve is that it can be installed as a browser extension for Internet Explorer and Firefox. Your browser then produces company ratings for products that you shop for online. If you don???t like the company???s rating, you can click on it for an explanation and alternative vendors. And how did Scryve put together all this information? According to the organization???s website:Our company profiles come from a number of places. Our seed data, our...
The big green monster in the closet via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
The word is out that Wal-Mart, the giant U.S. retailer, will hold talks with hundreds of its Chinese suppliers to discuss significant reductions of the environmental impact of its entire supply chain.
Given the magnitude of Wal-Mart???s activities ??? according to the Financial Times, Wal-Mart alone is responsible for about 30 percent of foreign purchases in China and close to 10 percent of all US imports from there ??? this may be a more significant step toward minimizing its ecological foot print than its previous attempts....
Let’s flip Capitalism. via It's Getting Hot In Here
Yesterday I had a very interesting discussion with a professor at my college about sustainable development. Sustainable development, as defined by the Brundtland Commission in Our Common Future, is “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the abilities of future generations to meet their needs”. He asked me, “How do you convince the community to work for sustainable development, and delay gratification?”
I did not have a good answer, since that is the question on everyone’s mind. How do you tell people they need to think about tomorrow when today they are starving, or thirsty, or without energy? The root problem, as my professor believes and I agree, is the culture of entitlement. We were having this discussion the in context of post-Apartheid...