New Business?NGO Partnerships Help the World’s Poorest

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Innovative approaches to reduce poverty through trade are bringing business, NGOs, government and aid agencies together in new ways.

“We believe that the leading global companies of 2020 will be those that provide goods and services and reach new customers in ways that address the world?s major challenges ? including poverty, climate change, resource depletion, globalization and demographic shifts.”

This statement does not come from a United Nations (UN) conference or a non-governmental organization (NGO) congress. It comes from companies themselves ? among them Adidas, BP and Procter & Gamble ? in their ?Manifesto for tomorrow?s global business?, signed by eight major businesses, members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Tomorrow?s Leaders group.

This example of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on a collective scale is not the only sign that businesses are becoming more socially responsible. Social entrepreneurship is also on the rise. These trends reflect a rise in partnerships between the profit and non-profit sectors.

As international businesses explore the developing world to find new consumer markets, firms are realizing that long-term prosperity depends on the development of these markets. As a result, more partnerships are springing up between international companies, NGOs and development agencies. They are finding common interests and learning from each other in the process.

A number of examples show that creative partnerships and approaches to reducing poverty through trade may be even more important than resources.


Electricit? de France is reaching people in rural areas without electricity through a range of partnerships. Its Energy Access programme is carried out with the World Bank, UN agencies, other multilateral and bilateral donors, NGOs and civil society to create small, locally run companies to provide electricity, water, gas and telephone services that stimulate local economic activity and contribute to wealth creation. The potential is huge: worldwide, 2 billion people still have no access to electricity. (Source: WBCSD)

Ashoka fellow Allan Schwartz worked with ITC to help boost exports from the wood sector in Mozambique, while allowing forest communities to preserve their environment. Local workers now produce high-quality wooden bracelets and have a reforesting plan. ITC helped with product adaption for various markets, quality assurance, marketing and distribution. (Source: Trade Forum)


A British Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 award shows how an eco-tourism resort in Mozambique can reduce poverty through trade. Built to environmentally friendly standards using local materials, techniques and labour, the resort employs 55 local staff, who in turn support over 500 family members (a third of the village). The concept will be duplicated in other locations. (Source:

These examples show how appealing to a market of 4 billion people living on under $2 a day requires a radically different approach ? a more socially responsible one.

Continue reading “New Business?NGO Partnerships Help the World’s Poorest

Source: International Trade Forum (link opens in a new window)