Publication database

This publication shows how Japanese retailer MUJI has built an inclusive supply chain positively impacting on small producers at the base of the pyramid (BOP), and how its stakeholders perceive its benefits. The report reflects direct feedback gathered during interviews and surveys conducted by IFC with different stakeholders in MUJI's supply chain, including producers, customers, employees, and management. The report highlights key challenges and opportunities that stem from engagement with the BOP producers in emerging markets. It also provides insights into good practice in incorporating the BOP producers into global value chains, drawing on MUJI’s experiences.

Based on an analysis of the CGAP’s data from national surveys of smallholder households and smallholder diaries, this paper outlines the profile and needs of smallholder families and their various subgroups. Firstly, the paper looks at the relationship between financial activities and the different livelihood strategies employed by smallholder families. Further, it highlights the characteristics and behaviors that are common to large groups of smallholders, discusses how the overall market can be segmented most effectively, and presents a nuanced picture of the different types of smallholder households. Finally, the paper discusses opportunities available for various stakeholders serving smallholder families.

Government, NGO, and business leaders typically see great promise for digital tools to empower smallholder value chains and make them more efficient and profitable for farmers. However, new technologies only reach scale when they are delivered within a functioning business model. By observing the full range of solutions that have been developed across the ASEAN region, Grow Asia sees startups migrating to five business models which seem to show the greatest potential in reaching smallholder farmers at scale. This report provides an overview of those five business models, namely Digital Advisory, Peer-to-Peer Lending, Traceability, Digital Marketplaces and Mechanization Platforms, and why they show the greatest promise.

The report takes customer-led view of the impact of the off-grid energy sector, as well as the relative performance of the sub-sectors within it.

This report presents the joint research findings and conclusions on child labour, forced labour and human trafficking linked to global supply chains from the ILO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), under the aegis of Alliance 8.7. It is the first attempt by international organizations to measure child labour, forced labour and human trafficking in global supply chains.

In India, there has been a rise in the number of social enterprises and a growing interest in impact investing, as social enterprises look to expand and seek alternate means of funding. However, there is a knowledge gap among entrepreneurs and accelerators in understanding the legal landscape and managing negotiations related to impact investing in India. This report is an attempt to address a gap in the impact investing ecosystem in India, where there are numerous complex structural and legal concepts that require understanding, both for investors and entrepreneurs.

This research report uses country level data and expert interviews to understand the critical gender gaps and entrepreneurial solutions to advance the lives of women in Southeast Asia. The study outlines a framework that captures economic empowerment, personal safety and mobility, formal representation, education, health, time and decision-making as seven mutually reinforcing dimensions that are critical to women’s empowerment in Southeast Asia. The report shows that while many development indicators demonstrate that the lives of women in Asia have drastically improved, endemic problems continue to keep them from fulfilling their potential.

Around the globe, a wave of innovation is sweeping across the financial sector, from public equities to bonds, real estate to insurance, venture investing to small-business lending. In each of these areas, innovative players are using an ever-growing range of instruments to achieve social and environmental benefits, while producing attractive returns. This is the exciting field of sustainable finance, and it is growing fast. Nowhere is the opportunity for sustainable finance greater than in Asia, and only a sliver of this opportunity has been realized.

India is the largest producer and consumer of spices in the world today. However, the scope of agrarian production in India, positions sustainability as an immediate and fundamental topic demanding attention on account of non-discriminate use of agrochemicals, farmer livelihood, labour issues and health & safety.

To address these challenges, Sustainable Spices Initiative – India (SSI-I) has designed Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAP) handbook, in collaboration with Indian Institute of Spice Research (IISR), that lays down a package of practices for sustainable spices production.

The Energy Access India (EAI) program, funded by USAID from 2015 to 2018, was designed to close the circuit between clean energy enterprises and investors by providing access to knowledge and mentorship able to increase enterprises’ investor readiness so that more capital can flow to these enterprises. Researchers Researchers from the William Davidson Institute and Miller Center studied the challenges and lessons learned from the perspectives of enterprises and investors engaged in the program.

This report analyzes the business models and strategies of the EAI portfolio companies, identifies barriers and opportunities for investment in clean energy enterprises in India and provides actionable recommendations for enterprises and investors to influence the development of the overall clean energy industry.