Browse by Theme: Private Sector

Megan Gaventa writes: As I took part in CARE’s recent roundtable discussion, ‘Invisible Women in Global Value Chains: A Missed Opportunity?’, I couldn’t help but feel that the event was timely. Not just because it was part of CARE’s 70th anniversary celebrations. The excitement surrounding the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals – and their standalone goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment – was still fresh in the mind. Recent weeks had also brought the under-representation of women in business, politics and other spheres into the spotlight, as Elle’s photoshopped images of world leaders reminded us how far there is to go.

Accenture and CARE International will discuss key findings from their report, Within Reach – How banks in emerging economies can grow profitably by being more inclusive, in a webinar on 19 November. This will be a chance for key stakeholders around the globe to learn about the commercial opportunities of responsible, inclusive banking.

Within Reach, a new report launched on 5 November by CARE and Accenture, the global consulting firm, sets out how banks in emerging economies can grow profitably by being inclusive. At CARE we know that providing access to basic formal bank accounts has a transformative effect for those living in poverty, especially women. Decades of working in this area has proven that even the poorest, those living on less than $2, can save and become viable customers. We believe that this report shows that financial inclusion can also be a viable business strategy.

Banking on Change is a partnership between Barclays, CARE International and Plan UK that is breaking the barriers to financial inclusion and improving the quality of life in some of the world’s poorest communities, by giving people the skills to save and manage their money effectively. Since 2009, the partnership has made a difference to the lives of 750,000 people around the world living on less than US$2 a day by setting up community savings groups who save and lend together, with a key focus on reaching young people.

CARE is about to publish a report on How banks in emerging economies can grow profitably by being more inclusive.  We’ve worked closely with Accenture, the global consulting firm, to analyse how banks are addressing the financial inclusion marketplace and we’ve developed some insights on how they can reach people in developing countries on very low incomes, profitably and responsibly.

Last month in New York, 17 Sustainable Development Goals were launched, now known as the ‘Global Goals’ with a comprehensive roadmap for the next 15 years leading up to 2030. While the fanfare and the party might be over, the question remains: what next?

Guest blog by Nelson Muffuh from the UN's Post-2015 Development Planning Unit: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was successfully adopted in September in New York by an unprecedented number of world leaders, and this is a huge achievement in the face of extensive negotiations and contributions from civil society and other stakeholders.