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Will millennials change the face of corporate responsibility? One millennial...
Everyone has something to say about millennials, the generation born from 1980 to the present, including how the next generation will shape corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability....
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Preventing another Rana Plaza: Mapping the path forward
This week American stakeholders announced the formation of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and signatories to the European Fire and Building Safety Accord released their Implementation Plan....
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The evolution of multi-stakeholder initiatives: Lessons for the Bangladesh...
In the months since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh sparked a drive to address worker health and safety in the garment sector, I’ve been suffering a severe case of déjà vu. Here’s how...
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Why the Ruggie Principles require every company to empower women
I’ve written previously that there is business case for companies to empower women; what I didn’t mention was that even if there were not, there would still be a strong legal case for them to do so....
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Three reasons why the UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights...
This week the UK government takes the historic step of becoming one of the first institutions to make an official statement on how companies should operationalize the UN Guiding Principles on Business...
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The Business Case for Worker Empowerment: Evidence from the Sri Lankan Tea...
I’ve written about the business case for empowering women producers before; but the financial justification for inclusive business goes much further than that. Today, CARE International published “A...
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How financial literacy can help build the market for micro-insurance
CARE International promotes microinsurance as part of the range of services and products that the poor need to help overcome poverty and reduce their vulnerability to shocks. However, we also know that...
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What the BBC didn’t say about workers in Bangladesh
The BBC’s recent Panorama investigation, Dying for a Bargain, brought welcome attention to the issue of workers’ rights in the Bangladesh garment sector, where more than 1,100 people recently died in...
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Is big business appropriating social enterprise?
Social enterprise has made it to the main stage. Companies from Unilever to Coke are embracing the concept and even starting their own enterprises. Speakers at last year’s Skoll World Forum on Social...
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Demystifying Social Enterprise and Inclusive Business
This year’s Skoll World Forum on Social Enterprise only confirmed the accelerating levels of interest in social business. The event brought together representatives from the private, public and...
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Hanging by a thread: Workers’ rights and lives
I was working in my room on the fourth floor of a hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s busy capital, when I saw a man hanging by a rope. To be precise, he was suspended on a fragile-looking piece of wood tied...
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Three consequences of over-hyping social enterprise
Putting entrepreneurs on a pedestal holds back the advancement of social entrepreneurism as a field Fast Company recently published an article asking if the term “entrepreneur” has “got too popular for...
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Empowerment beyond the buzzword: Unintended consequences of women’s economic...
Empowering women is not without risks – we need to identify and overcome them. There’s a statistic that most development practitioners will have heard quite frequently: empowering women farmers would...
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Three insights on feminist economics from Oxford PowerShift
Last week I had the honor of speaking at Oxford’s PowerShift Conference on Women in the World Economy. Rarely have I been in one room with so many accomplished women and rarely have I come away from...
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Microfranchising for Development: The Case of Krishi Utsho
The development world has long embraced micro-finance, and there is a lot of hype about micro-entrepreneurs, but what exactly is a micro-franchise? A micro-what? Micro-franchising “has its roots in...
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Three reasons social entrepreneurs should ignore MBA rankings
When I was applying for an MBA, there was one piece of advice that I received over and over: whatever you do, go to a school in the top ten global rankings- preferably one in the top five. School...
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The top MBAs for social business specialists
Recently I described three reasons that social entrepreneurs, or anyone else interested in social business, should ignore MBA rankings. Standard rankings are designed in a way which inadvertently...
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Towards an ecosystem for women’s financial inclusion- what next?
Recently I had the honor of presenting at the PowerShift Conference on Women in the World Economy, hosted by the Oxford University Saïd Business School. PowerShift was hands down the most inspiring...
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Data poverty: How the rise of big data risks marginalizing the world’s poorest
Reframing the problems of big data: When the implications of big data are debated the problem most often presented is that of data surplus. Questions of what applications produce what data, or what...
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Three differences between social intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs that people...
Most literature implies that the successful intrapreneur needs most of the same attitudes and tools as the entrepreneur; in other words, that the intrapreneur is just an entrepreneur who happens to...
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How the Internet of Everything can jumpstart corporate responsibility
The internet of everything will help address four fundamental corporate responsibility challenges. Applications of the internet of everything (IOE) range from the gimmicky to the game-changing, from...
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Two major trends that herald the future of the collaborative economy
There’s a lot of talk about the collaborative economy (CE), also known as the sharing economy. What most commentary overlooks, however, is the fact that as the CE has matured, and as it has done so,...
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Women and innovation: Making the connection
There is growing evidence that greater gender equality leads to increased business innovation, and companies that pay attention stand to reap great rewards. The business case for gender equality is...
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Three lessons companies need to master to lead in the women’s economy
It’s time for a more nuanced analysis of what the women’s economy really looks like and how it will evolve in the future.
View ArticleDriving towards equality: Women, ride-hailing, and the sharing economy
“On March 1, 2018, IFC launched the report… which explores how women and men participate in ride-hailing, particularly in emerging markets. The report uses data from Uber and survey results of more...
View ArticlePromoting gender equality across the online marketplace
A new initiative called Digital2Equal reflects on how platforms are becoming a priority for the World Bank Group as it works to close gender gaps in the digital economy. “Disruptive technologies can...
View ArticleThe Money Show with Bruce Whitfield
An engaging discussion of the South African report findings for “Driving Toward Equality” took place on The Money Show with Bruce Whitfield. “He plays host to major players in the business arena, from...
View ArticleFive things a global study on ride-hailing tells us about women and the...
The opportunities and risks of sharing economy models are particularly relevant for women, as they both have more to gain from greater participation and more to lose if they are excluded from new forms...
View Article#Digital2Equal: Expanding opportunities for women
This movement is a result of a partnership with the European Commission and unites leaders across the tech sector in order to utilize online marketplace to enhance opportunities for women competing in...
View ArticleNavigating the debate on women-only transport
Segregated transport remains heavily debated both in terms of its benefits to women and its efficacy within broader transport systems. Proponents claim that it helps meet women’s urgent needs for safe...
View ArticleAfter COVID, will women return to ride-hailing?
Alexa explores how ride-hailing has been impacted by the COVID pandemic, and how it can serve some it’s most important riders: women. To read the rest of the article, visit Thompson Reuters.
View ArticleWomen & ride-hailing in Sri Lanka
Few industries have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic more than the transport industry. Both the public and private sector, including ride-hailing, are looking for solutions that will ensure a...
View ArticleUsing AI for women’s economic empowerment: How can it work?
Caroline Rubin, Julia Hakspiel and Bobbi Gray from the WEE Working Group spoke with Alexa Roscoe, Disruptive Technology Lead at IFC’s Gender and Economic Inclusion Group, and Lana Graf, Principal...
View ArticleA conversation with Bolt, PickMe and Uber
What role are women playing in the ride-hailing market? Can ride-hailing improve women’s mobility and work opportunities? From addressing safety to designing new products, hear about the results of...
View ArticleAnnouncing the Generation Connect Visionaries Board
The Generation Connect Visionaries Board has been assembled as part of the implementation of the ITU Youth Strategy to further champion the voices of youth to advance digital development. Board members...
View ArticleWomen & E-commerce: A $300 Billion Opportunity
E-commerce is thriving in Africa and Southeast Asia. IFC leveraged data Jumia and Lazada, two of the largest e-commerce platforms in Africa and Southeast Asia respectively, and found that this growth...
View ArticleInterview on CNBC Power Lunch
How to accelerate women participation in Africa’s e-commerce industry. Alexa Roscoe sits down with Zinathi Gquma on CNBC Africa’s Power Lunch to discuss the findings of new research that shows how...
View ArticleBuilding Inclusive Platforms- A Conversation with Jumia and Lazada
The rapid digital transformation underway in many emerging markets has the potential to have an equally transformative impact for women entrepreneurs. However, critical gaps in access to the internet...
View ArticleWomen-only Ride-hailing: New Data from the Market
More ride-hailing companies are offering women-centred services, but do they get women on the road? The next time you open your favourite ride-hailing app, you may find a surprising feature: the option...
View Article2021’s most overrated and underrated tech
“‘Technology is at best half of the puzzle,’ said Alexa Roscoe, disruptive technologies lead at the International Finance Corporation.” Read the rest of the article at Devex.
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