Are you someone who believes that solar power can solve the problem of getting cheap, clean energy to people living off the grid in developing countries? Do you believe that a solar lighting enterprise has great ‘inclusive business’ potential but are unsure about how to get started? If so, our latest Spotlight publication on…

Malawi currently relies on Hydro-electric power to supply its electricity needs. The current station is able to provide only 280 megawatts of the 350 megawatt demand which leaves a deficit of about 70 megawatts. As such there are frequent power cuts for the sake of load-shedding; this brings a rise to the use of alternative sources of energy. While less than 10% of those affected are able to use generators or…

In 1999, in the face of a projected doubling of the number of blind people globally from 38 million in 1990 to 76 million by 2020, the World Health Organisation came together with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to launch a global campaign to halt the rise of avoidable blindness and eliminate it, saving 100 million people from blindness.  The Vision 2020 campaign was propelled by some radical changes in the prospects for the delivery of eye care thanks to some…

Access to electricity in Malawi is less than 15% with even lower access in rural areas. Although there are plans underway to expand the existing grid, many of the people currently living in remote areas will probably not be connected to the electricity grid during their lifetime. Therefore there is a strong need for a rural electrification model that saves households on their energy expenditure, gives them more opportunities to increase income, is financially sustainable and can be installed…

Imagine a world where marginalized communities in Africa no longer have to deplete forests for fuel-wood and income, where young girls in Africa no longer have to miss school to gather fuel-wood and where marginalized communities have access to clean and sustainable fuel made from locally sourced biomass? Imagine no more because this is the world that Eco-fuel Africa is creating in Uganda, East Africa!

On January 01, 2013 Mr. Michele Sibiloni, an independent journalist visited Eco-fuel…

Africa’s wealth lies primarily in its people – a young and growing population in search of opportunity. By enabling these individuals to engage in business, the private sector unleashes people’s potential. Inclusive businesses integrate low-income people into their value chains, thus creating opportunities for this group in a targeted way. It is our joint interest to create a better basis for communication and coordination among actors from different sectors working to support inclusive…

I am sharing see the latest Impact Report summarising some recent ADP projects and viewpoints on key organisational and programmatic challenges in the sector. There are summaries for the key domains - Health, Education, Financial Inclusion etc - and the report also highlights three important trends close to your collective inclusive business hearts:

• The changing and expanding role of business in development;
• The continuing potential of technology to increase the impact…

In the global education industry there is now increasing talk of ‘inclusive business models’, especially with…

The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) African Facility for Inclusive Market (AFIM) is a regional programme that is working to accelerate progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by supporting the development of inclusive, pro-poor markets across Africa.

AFIM's particular focus is on the promotion of Inclusive Market Development (IMD) in Africa through development and expansion of regional value chains in job creating sectors such as agribusiness.

AFIM…

With low projected growth in the US and EU, and the realization that the BRIC countries won’t be able to do it all on their own, there is renewed interested in Africa. It is a continent with enormous potential with some of the fastest growing economies on the planet. However, for any company new to the African continent, there are a number of challenges to consider.

Infrastructure – Anybody that has tried to move goods from point A to point B in…

Unlike most other pilot locations, Nigeria is still commissioning BIF projects. That was always envisaged in the planning, with a slightly later start on the programme and a bigger budget to spend on scale-ups. Whilst we have successfully delivered many short projects, and a few more complex…

Please find a link to the webinar I will be taking part in.  This is part of the work I did with ACDI VOCA as lead author, which looked at 3 case studies in Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi and the impact and opportunity of mobile money and mobile banking in agricultural value chains.…

The first G20 Inclusive Business Workshop was held in Berlin on September 19 – 20 to showcase the winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation: 15 outstanding inclusive businesses that offer innovative, scalable and financially sustainable ways of working with people at the base of the pyramid.These successful businesses present proven inclusive business models that have already created sizeable development…

There is increased interest in agriculture in Africa and in particular small holder farmers (SHF). SHF’s output remains low and is seen by many organizations to hold the key to chronic food shortages in Africa. For any suppliers looking to expand their footprint to access agro dealers servicing small holder farmers, there remain some key challenges.

Infrastructure – Infrastructure remains a key challenge as distances are great in African upcountry areas. According to…

Friday 16^th June, Thomas Reuters Building, Canary Wharf

Africa is an exciting place to be right now in terms of new technology start ups that are competing with and sometimes besting their Western counterparts, producing innovative products and services that can change the lives of millions on the continent. This was the core message of the Africa Gathering “Start it, build it” Festival of Technology, which members of the BIF team attended on Friday…

Los Cabos, Mexico, June 18, 2012—The Group of 20 today announced the winners of the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation, a global competition managed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Ambassador Mr. Rogelio Granguillhome, Executive Secretary of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group, presented the awards at a ceremony here. 

The world’s leading economies launched the G20 Challenge to rapidly…

Mobile services in agriculture used for information services, creation of new learning tools and market updates seems to be the area where the speed of innovation is now seriously picking up in Africa, as mobile networks have reached critical size and penetration to allow for new application creation. Sida is arranging a seminar titled "Can mobile phones improve agricultural productivity, resilience and food security?" 29 May at their HQ in Stockholm together with…

A couple recently travelled from Cape Town to Cairo to track down social entrepreneurs across the continent. Unfortunately this was not me, but it was the basis for an inspiring event, held in a cellar bar in central London last night. A range of development & charity professionals, as well as a healthy mix of mid-life crisis’ers and long term Gap Year nomads gathered to learn more about Nikki and Rob’s journey ‘ontheup’. The show cased projects ranging from Zambia to South Sudan, had…

An agriculture company that’s looking to enhance its local sourcing strategy, an education initiative whose vision is to make internet connectivity available for all children in Tanzania and a health venture that aims to replicate successful health approaches from elsewhere.  All these, and others, were in the 70-strong audience at Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) launch in Tanzania/ Dar es Salaam in the beginning of March. The event was a full house, with more people attending than were…

Research Africa is a market research agency with social impact as one of its goals in East-Africa. This agency is a social enterprise and was founded in 2012, partially funded by SIDA.

I’m proud to announce that Research Africa has successfully completed its first project last month,…