LONDON - "Required reading in Downing Street" was howThe UK Times described Enterprise Solutions to Poverty, a new report published by the Shell Foundation. Using a series of case studies in Africa and India, the Shell Foundation explains how multinationals operating in the developing world can leverage their non-financial assets to address local development and move beyond traditional forms of CSR and social investment. As such, Enterprise Solutions to Poverty argues that business thinking and the core competencies of multinationals are untapped resources in the fight against poverty. There is a particular emphasis on the importance of market-oriented approaches to poverty and the nurturing of pro-poor small enterprise. In conclusion, the report calls for Public Partnership Partnerships to be recast along business lines.
The Shell Foundation is new - established by Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies as a UK charity in June 2000. We believe the application of business principles and business thinking can be very useful in the challenge of overcoming poverty in developing countries. And unlike many corporate foundations, the Shell Foundation focuses on social issues aligned to the core characteristics of our founder. Thus we address social problems arising from the links between energy and poverty, energy and the environment and the impact of globalization on vulnerable communities.
