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Innovation, Technology, and Finance to make SMEs Stronger and More Productive
An initiative driven in El Salvador by IDB Lab, IDB Invest, and Banco Cuscatlán promotes digital transformation and adopting financial and non-financial products.
Superfoods also take care of Amazonia’s health
The development of sustainable value chains for quinoa, cocoa, sesame, and other high-nutritional-value crops can foster integration into international markets, benefit the region, and contribute to sustainable development goals.
By Adopting Traceability in Its Supply Chain This Company Managed to Become More Sustainable
In a world where sustainability is part of the DNA of business, an Ecuadorian company implemented standards to guarantee socially just and ecologically respectful practices throughout the value chain.
How Sustainable Tourism in Jamaica Opened Doors for Youth
A Jamaican-born IDB investment officer shares his experience filming the story of youth at risk in his hometown of Kingston * By Stefan Wright If you had told me two years ago that my tourism project would lead me to be part of a team filming a video in a music studio, I wouldn’t have believed you. But that is precisely what happened, together with Jamoi, one of several young Jamaican men who had turned his life around with this project – a project which combined sustainable tourism in Jamaica and at-risk youth.
Counterintuitive ideas are the right answer for sustainable enterprises
Most business models are formulated by the top of the pyramid. Many business leaders and academics write on the must haves of a successful base of the pyramid (BOP) business model. Still quite a few of those business endeavors fail. While reasons for failure vary, experience shows that the ability to observe, listen and understand the BOP’s social codes and priorities is key to successfully formulate and set up profitable, sustainable enterprises that target low-income markets.
Millennials and Shared Value: a perfect business strategy
Much has been said about the millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, accounting for approximately 80 million people in the United States, and what they represent for the future of our society. For businesses, for example, it is crucial to understand this new generation, both as consumers and employees, otherwise companies run the risk of becoming irrelevant and antiquated. A recent Deloitte Survey shows that companies will need to change the way they do business in order to accommodate this new generation. Millennials do not begrudge businesses making a profit, but they also believe that businesses should have a purpose: being a catalyst in making a lasting, positive impact on society.
Why are there so few women at the World Economic Forum?
Only 17% of participants at the World Economic Forum, hosted in Davos, Switzerland last month, were women. The annual WEF meeting brings together 2,500 leaders from government, the private sector and civil society to discuss challenges and opportunities for the global economy. For instance, one of the major outputs of the conference is a Global Risks Report that summaries economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological risks to the global economy. If so few women are included in the WEF, how can the conference identify the risks that apply to the whole population and influence thinking on major world issues?
Climate change slides off CEOs’ agendas in Davos
As the World Economic Forum drew to a close last week in Davos, Switzerland, three sobering messages for sustainable business emerged from the 2,500 participants in the invitation-only event. As I followed media coverage closely, my takeaways were the following:
Is Investment in Palm Oil Certification Worth It?
Palm oil has a terrible reputation. Especially among environmental and social advocates, palm oil is viewed as the crop responsible for a large-scale deforestation, particularly in Southeast Asia. Deforestation of carbon-rich forests leads to greenhouse gas emissions; between 2001 and 2010, palm oil-driven land-use change resulted in an average of 216-268 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year in Indonesia alone. For some perspective, that’s equivalent to the emissions from driving more than 45 million cars over the course of a year! Evidence also suggests labor rights violations, including child labor, at many plantations.