Publication database

This report reflects on the position of social enterprise across 27 countries, across 5 continents and including both developed and developing, stable and fragile countries. It aims to bring evidence together to provide comparisons between social enterprises across the globe, to highlight commonalities and differences, patterns and challenges. This study also considers the policy and support ecosystems for social enterprise in many countries, draws conclusions and makes recommendations based on the evidence.

This paper shows an exciting new momentum towards living wages, coming from businesses, investors and numerous civil society organisations. A vanguard of leading companies is moving beyond statutory minimum wages to ensure that workers are paid enough to achieve financial security. However, too many businesses still see living wages as a challenge rather than an opportunity. This paper seeks to change the narrative. It provides a new perspective on what paying living wages offers to companies and demonstrates that living wages generate a wealth of benefits to workers, businesses and society.

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.

Foreign companies operating in a ‘host’ country’s private sector play an important role in fostering inclusive development in these nations. This PhD thesis, exploring the contributions of the Dutch private sector to inclusive development in Kenya’s three most important sectors, tea, flower and renewable energy, finds that private companies operate in a very specific context and must adapt to existing local circumstances that are often not automatically inclusive.

This guide aims to stimulate thinking and exchange within companies and external partners about what business models for more decent jobs should look like. It demonstrates how fundamental changes can be made to improve job security, equality, health and wellbeing without impacting business competitiveness, growth and profitability. It also provides practical case studies and a framework for both evaluating the quality of jobs and also enhancing them.

The report by Dalberg quantifies the potential impact of Covid-19 on Nigera's economy, estimating that the pandemic and the projected global recession have the potential to reduce Nigeria’s GDP by 4% in the moderate scenario and by 23% in the downside scenario. Furthermore, the report identifies potential actions to mitigate the economic impacts, and calls for deeper collaboration between the public, private, and social sectors. 

This handbook provides investors, businesses and private
sector development practitioners with an overview of tools
and methods for effective and appropriately tailored data
collection for impact measurement and management. It
builds on the recognition that the methods of larger,
independent impact evaluations of, for example,
government-funded programmes rarely lend themselves
well to a private sector context. In reviewing select private
sector-relevant tools and methods, it draws out how such
tools can deliver impact insights while often feeding
valuable business intelligence back into companies.

This Toolkit provides a range of good practices, case examples, and resources to guide companies on how to get started or how to enhance existing efforts to employ, empower, and improve the advancement prospects of those living in poverty. This Toolkit, developed through literature review and drawing on the extensive knowledge and good practices of global GISC member companies, is intended as a resource for all employers at all stages of their inclusive employment journeys.

The off-grid solar energy industry is generating thousands of jobs across East, West and Central Africa as well as South Asia. GOGLA's latest report Off-Grid Solar. A Growth Engine for Jobs estimates the sector currently supports 370,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs across these four regions. With investments and the right policies, the off-grid solar sector could create 1.3 million FTE jobs across East, West and Central Africa as well as South Asia by 2022.

The purpose of this handbook is to enable the development of more sustainable, resilient and productive supply chains for agribusinesses and to illustrate the substantial development impact. Smallholder farmers are both an opportunity and a challenge for food and agribusiness companies. Many firms source from smallholders or are actively seeking to source from them. Yet the development and strengthening of smallholder supply chains remains a key challenge for many IFC agribusiness clients. Working with Smallholders handbook compiles innovative solutions and cutting-edge ideas for these challenges. The handbook incorporates a diverse collection of hands-on case studies from across the world regions covering wide variety of agribusiness sectors.