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Uniting David and Goliath : Why Multinational Companies Like Starbucks Need SMEs to Build Green Supply Chains
Globally, demand for sustainably-sourced products continues to grow at a staggering pace. Last year alone, consumers spent $6.6 billion on fair trade products. Companies from Mars to Wal-Mart to Unilever are responding to this demand by making pledges to source all, or some portions of, their inputs from more sustainable sources.
In order to meet these pledges, companies are changing the very way they do business.- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Peace Pays: Rebuilding Livelihoods in Northern Uganda
On Friday, the world will celebrate Peace Day, giving this work a special significance. Conflict and poverty are inextricably linked. On the other hand, economic growth reduces the risk of conflict. TechnoServe has seen this throughout our history, in countries such as Nicaragua and Mozambique. Giving people the opportunity to earn a living is one of the best ways to guarantee a lasting peace.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Venture Capital Is Taking Off in Mexico
Mexico has a large, stable and growing economy, currently the 14th largest economy in the world and, according to Goldman Sachs, will be the fifth largest economy by 2050.
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- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
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Guest Post: Setting Up an Export Business (Or Folding a T-Shirt) Without Wrinkles: Brazil’s Maos de Minas helps artisans connect to global market
Maos de Minas (“the hands of Minas”) promotes the artisan sector and preserves the cultural identity of the region Minas Gerais, the fourth largest of the 26 states of Brazil. Some 500,000 of the state’s approximately 20 million inhabitants are artisans, and about 7,000 of them are active members of Maos de Minas. Our project with the Maos de Minas organization is part of the SAP Social Sabbatical program.
- Categories
- Education
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Get Your Corporate Governance Groove On: Why social entrepreneurs need get in step with reality
You started out with just an idea for a social enterprise, and you’ve worked hard to get the right pieces in place to put it into action. Who’s going to be your CEO? If you’re not ready for that question yet, you should be. You may think the answer is obvious: You. Guess again.
- Categories
- Investing
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Does Africa really benefit from foreign investment?
African economies have grown robustly over the past decade, but that has not solved the continent's economic problems.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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WAMDA: Inspiring, Empowering and Connecting Entrepreneurs in the MENA Region
Launched by Abraaj Capital at 2010 milestone event “Celebration of Entrepreneurship” in Dubai in 2010, Wamda has evolved to be a major entrepreneurship platform in the region. It nurtures entrepreneurship both online as well as offline by combining an information outlet, funding opportunities, and additional programs – each specifically catered to entrepreneurs in the MENA region.
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- Uncategorized
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After Invention, it Only Gets Harder: Technology distribution isn’t as sexy as innovation, but it’s critical
However noble an engineer’s aspirations may be, mere invention is not enough. Functional sales, marketing, distribution, and after-sales service strategies are required to get technologies into the hands of people they are intended to benefit. Without this holistic picture, technologies fail to achieve significant impact, and are essentially designed in vain.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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