Social Impact Pioneers

Women’s mental health and work. Social Impact Pioneers Sue Tym and Jo Martin examine how to best support women in the garment sector. Sue is the Senior Manager for the Social Impact Portfolio in Primark's ethical team, whilst Jo has over 30 years’ experience in mental health trainer and practitioner. Sue and Jo have been leading a series of programmes where women help other women boost their well-...

What are Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and why can they be transformative for communities, particularly for women? Social Impact Pioneers Kalkidan (Kal) Lakew and Emily Janoch from the international NGO, CARE, explore how VSLAs facilitate financial inclusion, foster social empowerment and encourage community solidarity. Kal is the Program Coordinator for CARE's Women (in VSLAs) Res...

Social Impact Pioneer Elizabeth Wells talks about women entrepreneurs and digital inclusion. Elizabeth is currently the Head of Entrepreneurship at the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. The Foundation is on a mission to eliminate barriers to entrepreneurship for women, helping to enable global economic gender justice. Elizabeth’s work within the organisation is focused on unlocking the power of d...

Social Impact Pioneer Molly Melin deep dives into the role of organisations, particularly businesses in building and breaking peace. The UN estimated in early 2023 that six out of seven people worldwide are plagued by feelings of insecurity. The world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War, whilst 2 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live in places affec...

Today on our podcast "Social Impact Pioneers," we are joined by two trailblazers in the fight against global poverty and unemployment through youth entrepreneurship: Anita Tiessen, CEO of Youth Business International (YBI) from the UK, and Rose Namutebi, a social worker and entrepreneur who serves as Cordaid Uganda’s Gender Specialist and Project Coordinator for their High Flyers project. Anita Ti...

Delve into the intersection of technology, finance, and social good. Social Impact Pioneer Briana Marbury, the CEO and President of the Interledger Foundation talks about her work shaping the future of digital financial inclusion. The Interledger Foundation is the philanthropic FinTech committed to advancing financial inclusion through innovative technology. The foundation promotes the Interledger...

How do we better support women working in global value chains? Social Impact Pioneer, Clare Fitton of Sedex joins us to talk gender data, ethical supply chain management and how it can enhance business performance whilst improving lives. Global value chains depend on hundreds of millions of workers to produce the goods we use every day – from our food, to our clothes, to our personal care products...

Managing gender inequalities in supply chains is good for people and good for business. Meet Social Impact Pioneer - Sam Ludlow-Taylor, the Senior Manager for Human Rights Programmes at the John Lewis Partnership, which includes the supermarket - Waitrose. Sam is on a mission to tackle gender inequity from the bottom up and top down. With a rich background in commercial roles transitioning into et...

Investing in women farmers - why do we need to and are we doing enough? Social Impact Pioneer Leonor (Leo) Gutiérrez Fernández, the visionary Director of the Women in Agriculture Initiative (WAI) at Root Capital, joins us to talk: impact investing, agriculture and why we aren’t helping anyone by leaving women behind. With a background in psychology and a master's in social development, Leo has ded...

Climate change is a global health issue. Social Impact Pioneer, Desta Lakew joins us to share her insights on why Africa’s youthful population is a sick crisis waiting to explode if we don’t start thinking about health care rather than sick care. And how climate change is already deteriorating health in the areas she’s working on. Desta is a powerhouse in forging global partnerships for Africa, pl...

Deep dive into the world of domestic work and what it means to empower domestic workers. Whether that’s cleaning, caring or generally working within the home or directly for one person or family, you will have been engaged in domestic work or know someone who is. The ILO estimates that 75.6 million people are engaged in domestic work around the world, and for women especially it can be an importan...

How has the business agenda on equity evolved over the past 20 years? Meet Social Impact Pioneer and Business Fights Poverty Institute Founding Fellow – Jane Nelson. Jane is the Founding Director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School and worked with the late Professor John Ruggie who developed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business on Human Rights. She was...

Are you poor? Am I poor? And what will it take to stop poverty? Social Impact Pioneer Dr Martin Burt doesn’t think we should just be measuring poverty, or in turn wealth, by the amount of money we have alone. Martin believes that we can all be poor by some measures and that none of us are necessarily poor by all the measures. That is because Martin has been studying, working and leading businesses...

What happens when social impact and entrepreneurship skills are combined? The Social Impact Pioneer Dr Orsolya Ihasz. Orsolya or Orsi to her friends, works at the intersection between deep academia, social innovation, entrepreneurship, and public health – she is a champion of the social enterprise. From youth peace activist to today – where Orsi is currently the Director of the Cranfield Venture P...

How do we tackle gender inequality through work? Avon are calling for Women's progress and equality, for us to Speak Out against gender-based violence and Shine Bright for women in our communities and around the world. This podcast was recorded during the Business Fights Poverty Global Equity Summit 2024. Ahead International Women's Day - Andreea Moldovan and Laura Shaw joined us and had a convers...

Can business help peace? And can the processes by which peace comes into being help business? My social impact pioneer today – Tim Fort believes so. As one of the recent nominees for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize (yes The Nobel Peace Prize) – Tim Fort is a prolific thinker and writer on all avenues of business and peace. Tim Fort has been nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in showi...

Measuring social impact and human rights regulation are hot topics. Social Impact Pioneer - Emily Kane Miller has been working hard to develop understanding and data on to help us all with this. From lawyer to social impact specialist, Emily has an eye for detail. Emily has felt the pain of not being able to measure and manage social impact with businesses. Most people complain about this, Emily b...

Education equity – what does that mean and why does it matter? For Social Impact Pioneer, Mohan Sivaloganathan knows it’s about making education and employment preparedness fairer, opportunities open to everyone and closing the gaps of inequality. Mohan Sivaloganathan, the CEO of Our Turn. leading a national movement in the US of young leaders in the fight for education equity. Our conversation is...

Meet Social Impact Pioneer - Hamzah Sarwar as he shares the challenges of combining personal and business purpose. Hamzah takes us on his personal journey, exploring the challenges of trying to create social good, whilst providing for his family. Hamzah is now the Global Social Impact and Partnerships Director at Reckitt, who are a global health, hygiene, and nutrition business, with a presence in...

Making living wages work. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce a trailblazer in the realm of social impact, Jeff Bakes, an award-winning International Total Rewards Director and the current Head of Total Rewards at IKEA. With over three decades of reward expertise, Jeff stands out as a global thought leader, known for his innovative and exceptional solutions in the field. And that field includes, maki...

Delve into the fascinating world of sustainable hospitality with Levar Jackson, a visionary in eco-friendly hotel design. As the Founder and CEO of Yogh Group, Jackson collaborates with Oregon State University to pioneer sustainable technologies for the hospitality industry, such as the QuaiEnergy System and the Algae Growth System. Our conversation starts in the UK, highlighting the need for gree...

Social Impact Pioneer, Azfar Khan explores the complexities and transformative potential of living wages. A topic that seems straightforward but unravels into a myriad of intricate issues: Living wages. The concept is simple – pay people enough not just to survive, but to truly live. This approach has the power to address the root of numerous societal challenges, from domestic violence and health...

Over 4.5 million mothers and babies die each year from preventable conditions during pregnancy, birth or in the few weeks of life; 95% of these in lower-income countries. Maternal health supply chains are a key element to ensure medicines and equipment reach those who need it. Last mile delivery of medicines to hard-to-reach places is critical to addressing maternal and baby deaths. This Social Im...

Why lifting participation of women and excluded groups around the world can help tackle climate change. Listen in to this personal conversation between Standard Chartered’s Group Chief Executive, Bill Winters and Futuremaker Audrey S-Darko as they talk entrepreneurship, climate change and women in technology. Audrey is a dynamic entrepreneur in the agricultural-tech sector based in Ghana. During t...

Dive into the heart of COP28, examine the critical discussions on climate change and water security. Social Impact Pioneers - Farai Tunhuma and Uwe Steckhan of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, join us from within the global climate conference in Dubai – COP28. Our conversation begins with a focus on the crucial role of water in climate resilience. We explore how climate change exacerbat...