NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Background

The world is at a critical turning point. With the 2030 deadline for the Global Goals fast approaching, there is a growing urgency to surface bold ideas, practical examples, and collective action that can accelerate progress. As part of our journey towards the Global Goals Summit in September, we are launching a series of community sessions. The community session will take place in the morning and afternoon on the 21st of May and on the 16th of July, followed by a final reflective session during the Global Goals Summit.

Too often, strategies to address social and environmental challenges are developed without engaging those closest to the issues. Building this bridge fosters co-creation, ensuring solutions are practical, scalable, and grounded in local realities. By working with those most affected by social and environmental challenges, companies can develop more effective strategies, enhance resilience, and drive lasting impact.

These sessions will be online via Zoom, but also hybrid in selected locations (e.g. Nairobi, Lagos, São Paulo, TBC). They will combine written contributions, real-time discussion, and community-led insights.

Read more on Five Bridges themes from the Business Fights Poverty framework.

Panel

VIEW Full List of Named Contributors

Please do encourage diverse voices from your network to participate by sharing this LinkedIn Post

Questions

1. What are the risks of not including grassroots or frontline voices in strategy?
2. How are you (or others you’ve seen) co-creating solutions with people directly impacted by the issues being addressed?
3. What practices or platforms help ensure listening and accountability to communities or workers on the ground?

How to add your comments

If you are already a member of the Business Fights Poverty online community, login here and then return to this page and click “Log In” at the top right of this page – if you are logged in correctly you will not need to enter your details again. If you have not logged into our new community platform, you will have to reset your password here.

If you are not already a member of the Business Fights Poverty online community, you will need to sign up here . Once you have joined the community, you can return to this discussion page and click “Log In” at the top right of the page.

Join us virtually for the launch of our flagship State of Blended Finance report on Wednesday, May 21 at 9:00AM ET, where we will share updated data trends on the blended finance market from 2024, and take stock of the market’s progress in achieving scale. This year’s report will also revisit previous editions of the report to evaluate the market’s progress in overcoming key challenges, highlighting renewed calls to action in light of a rapidly changing landscape for global finance.

Explore past State of Blended Finance reports here. Our climate-focused State of Blended Finance report will be released in Fall 2025.

Time: 9:00 AM ET