What are the risks of not including grassroots or frontline voices in strategy?
How are you (or others you’ve seen) co-creating solutions with people directly impacted by the issues being addressed?
What practices or platforms help ensure listening and accountability to communities or workers on the ground?
Background
The world is at a critical turning point. With the 2030 deadline for the Global Goals fast approaching, there is a growing urgency to surface bold ideas, practical examples, and collective action that can accelerate progress. As part of our journey towards the Global Goals Summit in September, we are hosting a series of community sessions. The next one will be on the 16th of July here followed by a final reflective session at the Global Goals Summit on 23rd September during UNGA.
Too often, strategies to address social and environmental challenges are developed without engaging those closest to the issues. Building this bridge fosters co-creation, ensuring solutions are practical, scalable, and grounded in local realities. By working with those most affected by social and environmental challenges, companies can develop more effective strategies, enhance resilience, and drive lasting impact.
If you are already a member of the Business Fights Poverty online community, login here and then return to this page and click “Log In” at the top right of this page - if you are logged in correctly you will not need to enter your details again. If you have not logged into our new community platform, you will have to reset your password here.
If you are not already a member of the Business Fights Poverty online community, you will need to sign up here . Once you have joined the community, you can return to this discussion page and click “Log In” at the top right of the page.
We’re excited to have you join us on 21 May! In the meantime, take a moment to introduce yourself to the community—just click the blue “Reply” button and say hello!. If you’d like to connect with others, feel free to include your LinkedIn profile too.
Expert in Community Development and Lifelong Learning
Co-founder – Ageless Inspirations Charitable organization
More than 20 years of experience in combining extensive experience in both local and international community development and advocacy in areas of education, social, economic, and environmental improvements working jointly with key stakeholders in assessing needs and developing strategies and action plans to address defined needs.
My name is Samuele Tini, and I am the Director of 3E Africa, a pan-African organization committed to sustainability, entrepreneurship, and clean energy. With over 20 years of experience in international cooperation, sustainability, and impact-driven entrepreneurship, I am deeply passionate about creating innovative solutions for environmental and social challenges, particularly across Africa.
I also host The Samuele Tini Show , a podcast where I engage with global leaders, innovators, and changemakers to discuss sustainability, regeneration, and the future of our planet. LI www.linkedin.com/in/samuele-tini
I have over 23 years of experience in international development, in East and Southern Africa and Asia. My work focuses on promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, particularly in the agriculture and energy sectors. I have been actively involved in policy advocacy related to water, energy, and food ecosystems and have developed best practice models for private sector development.
I have co-designed business models and innovations for youth entrepreneurship. I hold an MBA from TU Nepal and an MSc in Strategic Planning from Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University in the UK. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekanath/
I have been trying to make connections between organisations and the communities they serve for a bit more than 25 years, having worked both on the Creating Shared Value way of doing business at Nestlé and for AOAC’s Africa Section (the organisation representing food safety scientists). Along the way the organisations I have worked for have learned some important lessons about connecting with grass roots actors; some of those lessons haven’t been straightforward, but all of them have been valuable. I am looking forward to sharing and learning at this week’s session. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-bee-223a95/
My name is Wanda Brandt, Communications Manager at Youth Business International (YBI), the global leader in youth entrepreneurship. For over 25 years, YBI has combined global influence with local expertise to drive economic growth and job creation through supporting and scaling youth-led businesses globally. All of YBI’s work with young people is delivered by and designed in consultation with local experts and organisations enabling us to successfully deliver global programmes with bespoke solutions in varied context. Our model enables us to deliver a wide range of solutions that span geographies, respond to thematic priorities and evolve with new technologies and fresh challenges.
In my role at YBI, I develop thought leadership, gather evidence, showcase success and share the voices of young business owners to make the case for what works in youth entrepreneurship support and advocate for global changes to enable more young people to access entrepreneurship worldwide.
Hello everyone. My name is Hanah Davis and I work for the Lorna Young Foundation (LYF), a UK-based INGO. Alongside my colleague Hannah Clark, I have spent the last eight years leading LYF’s Farmers’ Voice Radio initiative, partnering with businesses, research institutions and other organisations working with smallholder farmers around the world to make participatory radio programmes that enable people in isolated agricultural communities to access and share vital information and knowledge. I am looking forward to discussing this important topic with you all later this week!
Hi, I’m Rukayya Mahe, an agricultural economist, social entrepreneur, and community manager with over a decade of experience in banking, education, and rural development. I am the Founder of Global Agricultural Extension and Rural Services (GAERS), where my focus is on empowering grassroots voices, particularly youth and women. This involves strengthening extension systems, promoting climate-smart agriculture, and scaling inclusive innovation in farming communities in northern Nigeria.
Additionally, I serve as a Community Manager at Weltweit e. V., where I facilitate connections between local voices and global development efforts.
I am looking forward to today’s session! My name is Paul Ellingstad, and I am managing partner of PTI Advisors. We accompany leaders from all three sectors on journeys to achieve better-- growth, efficiency, innovation, performance, competitiveness, impact, and even a better life, a better community, and a better world. More about me here https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulellingstad/ and open connect and have a conversation.
Hi, I’m Nyika. I have 20 years’ experience working in sustainability and social impact across sectors and geographies, including retail, agriculture, and manufacturing. Born in Malawi and having lived and worked across sub-Saharan Africa, I bring a grounded, global perspective to building fair, resilient supply chains. I’ve held senior roles at Barclays, the John Lewis Partnership, and most recently as ESG Director at MM Flowers. I’m also a trustee of The One Foundation and the John Lewis Partnership Foundation, and passionate about building shared value models that centre the voices of those closest to the issues.
Hi
Nina Hjortlund here. I am the Founding Director and CEO of Australia for Cedar Tanzania. We deliver positive and sustainable change in rural Tanzania.
We service app 35,000 residents with healthcare, skill-based training, agricultural programs, and community empowerment.
My name is Richa Paliwal, and I’m the Associate Director - Insights and Strategic Communications at CottonConnect. We’re a pioneering social enterprise dedicated to reimagining the future of supply chains. With teams across the globe, we work to improve the sustainability of global textile supply chains, helping producers and farmers operate more responsibly and secure better livelihoods. This, in turn, allows brands to access more sustainable cotton and other natural fibers, creating a more transparent and resilient supply chain for the future. With over a decade of experience in sustainability, my current role involves developing and executing strategic communication plans and conducting insightful research to showcase the critical impact of our work and advocate for more sustainable practices across the industry.
Hi, I’m Elle DiLorenzo, a global strategy advisor with 25 years of experience in building sustainable, people-centered programs. Through my Enduring Impact consulting work, I help organizations bridge the gap between strategy and execution—ensuring that programs not only work but endure.
Having worked across sectors, geographies, and cultures—from Booz Allen Hamilton to the United Nations—I focus on creating solutions grounded in local realities and strengthened through collaboration. For me, it’s not just about shaping strategies for impact—it’s about remembering that people and relationships are at the heart of every organization and every lasting result.
As the global development landscape shifts, I’m especially interested in helping organizations adapt, find their place in this evolving space, and design approaches that truly stick.
Hi everyone, and Tena Koutou Katoa from Aotearoa New Zealand.
I was introduced to the notion of CSR and Corporate Citizenship in the mid-90’s and have been a passionate broker, advocate, student and practitioner ever since. As a lapsed musician, I like to think about communities as a band that brings together a range of apparently unrelated instruments and skills to create music. The more skilled the musicians and the more the band practices and plays together, the better the music and impact. Applied to corporate citizenship and community development, this analogy helps to move the conversation and activations beyond the default of transactional philanthropy into partnership and collaboration, and a greater impact for all concerned.
Looking forward to being a part of the conversation. Best regards, Ian
Hello Everyone. Wonderful to form part of this community.
I served for over 15 years as a US diplomat and economist with USAID in Eastern Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa. I mostly dealt with high-risk operational and financial environments while co-designing economic development initiatives through blended finance structures that helped leverage sustainable investments by funding pre-feasibility and feasibility studies in very undercapitalized jurisdictions. Most of these were rife with illicit and informal activities. This required a keen sense of understanding how best to leverage private sector engagement through local systems dynamics, shared value objectives, social license to operate, and improvements in land tenure registration. Truly look forward to our discussion.
Hello everyone! My name is Kalkidan (Kal) Lakew Yihun, a Program Coordinator at CARE, I lead an initiative called ‘Women Respond’ that centers women and community voices to support data-driven responses to crises by actively listening to and learning from community members and their experiences. I have 13 years of experience working on food security programs, community capacity building and research. I am passionate about using data to tell compelling stories and drive meaningful action. I am excited to contribute to this important topic and learn from all of you. www.linkedin.com/in/kalkidan-yihun
Look forward to this discussion with you all. Todd Kirkbride in Washington DC presently working as an independent strategy consultant advising clients on how to build multi-stakeholder partnerships and conduct private sector engagement. Having worked in international development for leading donors and nonprofits, my primary technical expertise is around strengthening food systems: working with smallholder farmers and all related partners (inputs, finance, processors, off-takers, etc.) necessary for an effective ecosystem and improved livelihoods. Any intervention I have helped design or implement has involved the local communities where we operate. Full stop. BUT, what the development community ultimately implements may not have taken into full account what is best for the collective community and necessarily met them exactly where they need to be. I believe a mindset shift is also necessary to see them as clients, not beneficiaries. I look forward to sharing about my experiences and learning from the rest of you.
Greetings Community, My name is Ong’udi Amos, a final year University student at KCA University graduating this July 4th, 2025 with a Bachelor’s of Commerce with a major in Finance. With a passion for inclusive Investment and Social impact, I have always followed closely the work of Business Fights Poverty and its great insights into poverty alleviation in Africa. As a social Impact champion, I am the cofounder of Mwangaza Community Service Group, which aims to economically empower youths and teenage mothers to rise beyond their poverty line and redefine their future through talent. I am currently exploring and open to being engaged with organizations with a focus on Social impact and inclusive investment. For networking, below is my LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/amos-okoth. I am really looking forward to contributing and learn in the upcoming discussion on connecting decision makers with those closest to the Issues.
