Articles

Private funding of microcredit schemes: much ado about nothing?

Microcredit, defined as small loans to people who have no regular access to credit, is an innovative strategy in the fight against poverty. Microcredit institutions can obtain funding from Private Institutional Investors (PIIs) that channel funds from donors, private lenders, and socially-responsible investors. Private financing of development aid is likely to become more important and microcredit presents an investment opportunity within this context.
Author: 
Gutiérrez Nieto, Begoña
Page: 
19

Complexities in natural-resource management: irrigation infrastructure in Bihar

All over Gaya District in Bihar, irrespective of a person's caste or economic status, irrigation is the overriding topic of concern on public platforms and in private conversations. In the absence of adequate government action, different kinds of community endeavour are emerging to answer the need, some supported by radical political movements, others by organisations of a religious persuasion, and still others primarily by prominent local citizens.

Author: 
Ramagundam, Rahul
Page: 
20

Facilitated inter-firm collaboration in Ghana: the case of Danida's Private Sector Development Projects

Since the mid-1980s, aid agencies have endorsed the need to support the development of private enterprise in low-income countries as an instrument for overall economic development and poverty reduction. Facilitated collaboration between firms in industrialised and developing countries has become one of the most popular forms of assistance in this endeavour. Although such collaborations vary in design, they all involve third-party organisations that identify partners and sponsor the first steps in the establishment of a business platform for the cooperation.
Author: 
Kuada, John
Author: 
Sørensen, Olav Jull
Page: 
18

Enhancing competitiveness and securing equitable development: can small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do the trick?

Many governments and aid agencies believe that small businesses can contribute to promoting more equitable development, as well as enhancing the competitiveness of local industries within a global economy. While small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may have a role to play in creating jobs, and generating and redistributing wealth, they need to overcome many obstacles.
Author: 
Jeppesen, Soeren
Page: 
17

A critique of design methodologies appropriate to private sector activity in development

In the corporate world, design has received increasing attention over the last 50 years and is now firmly embedded within almost all aspects of corporate activity. This article explores the role of design in development. Design is widely used and understood, within capitalist economies, to denote a diverse set of tools, used to maximise market share, sales, and profits, and support market differentiation and brand identity of products.
Author: 
Coward, Tim
Author: 
Fathers, James
Page: 
16

Size matters: the need for human-scale economic institutions for development

Current mainstream development thinking, with the exception of a few areas like microcredit, tends to favour size over substance. This article aims to challenge the belief that large-scale companies, markets, and institutions are the most effective means of `delivering development'. We argue that, by designing institutions to meet different needs at different scales, long-term sustainable development outcomes are more likely.
Author: 
Doane Deborah
Author: 
Oram, Julian
Page: 
15

Corporate citizenship: creating social capacity in developing countries

A corporation has only limited ability to create social capital through philanthropic activity, and in the context of a decline in official aid, the corporate sector is increasingly assuming a de facto developmental role. The presence of social capital assists communities in moving towards sustainable development and may contribute to the business case for corporate- community partnerships.
Author: 
Goddard, Trevor
Page: 
14

Corporate social responsibility: a challenge for the donor community

As corporate social responsibility (CSR) increases in large corporate organisations, a genuine approach to sustainable development is often best achieved through the supply chain. This is directly applicable to North-South supply chain interactions (private sector organisations, NGOs, and donors). CSR has adopted techniques from their `development' usage, yet a reverse flow is not observed back to the `development' sector. This is unfortunate.
Author: 
Frame, Bob
Page: 
13

Business economic impacts: the new frontier for Corporate Accountability

Economic issues associated with poverty are complex and require holistic responses in order to realise the goals of sustainable development. While business alone may have significant economic impacts, the link between business-level behaviour and macro-level development aspirations is unclear.
Author: 
Campbell, Helen
Page: 
12

Corporate responsibility or core competence?

Although the concept that corporations are responsible not only to their shareholders but also for the social and environmental impacts of their activities has now entered the mainstream, pressure is still required to ensure that companies honour their public commitments. This article describes the work of the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility in harnessing the power of individual shareholders and ethical investors in order to hold companies to account, with particular reference to the activities of Shell in Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland.
Author: 
Hayes, Barbara
Author: 
Walker, Bridget
Page: 
11
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