Publication database

This snapshot report details how prioritising green and social enterprises delivers triple returns - economic, social and environmental – in both short and long terms. It analyses the status quo, gaps and potentials of green and social enterprises as well as the SME support landscape in different areas and locations. Building on in-depth SEED-conducted interviews with enterprises and enterprise support providers, green recovery contributions and support opportunities were identified to improve the existing support offers for green and social enterprises in a green recovery context.

There is a strong need for increased adoption of sustainable agricultural practices to bring the food from farm to fork while addressing three major challenges: feeding a growing population, providing a livelihood for farmers, and environmental protection. This is where decentralised renewable energy (DRE) technologies must play a key role. Moreover, as innovation in DRE-powered agricultural equipment and appliances steam ahead, their technical and commercial viability will improve further. Based on best practices from the 15 case studies, this publication makes recommendations for public and private stakeholders.

This report highlights opportunities for the private sector in Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS), including how to implement financially sustainable business models and recommendations for business. DCMS offer a huge opportunity to increase the productivity and resilience of smallholders and support sustainable food systems. 

This article attempts to move the needle on extant inclusive business discourse by delineating, conceptually, what it means to be(come) an inclusive business. By drawing on the rich literature on inclusive growth, sustainable business models, social enterprise and hybrid organizations, it offers revised definitions of inclusive businesses and inclusive business models. The article argues, amongst others, that inclusive businesses necessarily prioritize value creation over value capture and should be judged based on the net value they create for ‘income-constrained’ groups. It furthermore proposes how the boundaries of entrepreneurial responsibility can be delimited, with implications for how sustainable business models more generally should be designed.

We are significantly under-estimating the benefits of cleaner, climate-smart growth. Bold climate action could deliver at least US$26 trillion in economic benefits through to 2030, compared with business-as-usual. There are real benefits to be seen in terms of new jobs, economic savings, competitiveness and market opportunities, and improved well-being for people worldwide.

This report reveals the magnitude of the gender gap in mobile internet use across low- and middle-income countries, as well as highlighting the persistent gender disparity in mobile ownership and the barriers to ownership and use. Findings from this report are based on the results of over 25,000 face-to-face surveys commissioned by GMA Intelligence across 23 low- and middle-income countries, and subsequent modelling and analysis of this survey data.

The Blended Finance Taskforce and KOIS Invest released a paper about blended finance for sustainable land-use (SLU), analysing how blended finance can mitigate risks and enhance returns for investors in this sector. SLU seeks to protect the climate by reducing carbon emissions and preserving carbon sinks. Private investment in SLU is not however at the scale needed to tackle the problem. According to KOIS, there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way in which (i) private sector investors view investment opportunities in SLU and how (ii) public and philanthropic investors engage to catalyse private capital in SDGs.