Publication database

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.

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 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.

For over a decade, mobile money has been driving financial inclusion, opening access to digital transactions and giving people the tools to better manage their financial lives. This publication delves further into this topic and addresses the following key questions: How should the mobile money business model evolve to meet the changing needs of individuals and small businesses, and what is required to make this shift? Who will benefit from the ‘payments as a platform’ approach?

This workbook has been conceived as a practical tool for innovators working in the agricultural sector to reach and effectively serve the untapped market of women smallholder farmers in emerging economies. The workbook reviews existing resources and tools for designing and marketing products, services, and technologies, provides a way to assess barriers and opportunities for reaching the missing market of women farmers, and recommends specific tools and processes for the entire business cycle, from product design to market entry, retention, and growth.

In 2015, the ADB engaged Inclusive Business Sweden to prepare this sector study on IB models in the value chain of the textile and clothing industry in Asia, focusing on Bangladesh and Myanmar. The study focussed on mapping opportunities for developing inclusive business models across supply chains in Asia as possible new and innovative investment opportunities for leading Swedish and other international and local companies in the sector. 11 broad opportunities were identified in Bangladesh and 8 in Myanmar. Within each of the two countries, two opportunities were prioritised which were considered to be commercially viable and scalable with a great potential for positive impact.