A1: Some of the organisations in Kenya working to rebuild better include;
a) The Rotary District 9212 in Kenya. Where they are distributing hand washing stations, soaps, sanitizers, water tanks, PPEs and even flowers for hope to the frontline health care workers and to all the counties in Kenya and more so to the vulnerable communities. https://web.facebook.com/rotary9212/?tn=kCH-R&eid=ARA9d9xkwna3vqmh_DDLB-hA1bPxgH2d4TMyR7m5YNzagEBCZUeUMJLEjb5upd2xZ6LIUr4eUZyymuiz&hc_ref=ARTPPoyJ2ka8_xCf8ghfuxlg_pVmarhjZgeXVEYJHvYuLkIA9jN3BtjvduQD7AAb_CQ&ref=nf_target
b) Longhorn publishers have opened free portals for quarantined learners : https://elearning.longhornpublishers.com/
c) Airtel Kenya offers free internet access to learning website to enable students continue studying: https://africa.airtel.com/media/free-internet-for-schools
A number of organisations have collaborated in the fight against COVID 19 Pandemic, one of them being the Government of Kenya coming together with the UN family and other civil society organisations in tackling the pandemic.
Safaricom has partnered with the Kenya Commercial bank to support customers in financial distress through affordable lending and cutting transaction costs. This could help businesses stay afloat and during this period.
The health sector is also working collaboratively with Safaricom to offer doctor on call services commonly known as telemedicine. Kenyans could get treated without physically visiting a doctor. They can also offer referral services to patients.
Some other examples from ICMM members - Rio Tinto has pledged $25 million in additional funding to support communities across the globe with COVID-19 preparedness and recovery efforts while in Australia, BHP has established a $50 million Vital Resource Fund to support regional communities. Vale has donated 5 million rapid test kits and additional protective clothing for doctors and nurses in Brazil. Lots more examples of member responses and practical action on our website (icmm.com)
Three of the emerging examples of best practice and collaboration tat Iâm seeing are in the following areas:
(we are aware that some businesses and organisations are already putting in place ways to rebuild better - we would love your examples here, feel free to add links. Collaborating/working together is an important part of this, so in addition, examples of this are welcomed.)
Three key longer-term implications â both risks and opportunities - of the business response and recovery efforts:
First - Strengthening health capabilities and systems â this includes actions such as companies collaborating with employees and trade unions to implement more comprehensive company-wide health, safety, hygiene and wellness programs in the companyâs own workplaces; building closer links with local healthcare providers, food banks, homeless shelters and other community-based organizations to build greater capacity and resilience in host communities, which can be really strengthened over the longer term as well; and obviously the crucial work of pharma and IT companies in partnering to develop testing, therapeutics and vaccines.
In the business community SMEs and MSMEs are quite important links in the value chain of larger companies, and also key employers in both developed and developing countries. The pandemicâs fall-out has dealt serious blows to SMEs and MSMEs and their workers, and these are the most vulnerable players in the business community. Their vulnerabilities echo out through economies at national and global levels as we are already seeing during this crisis. MSMEs are in the functioning of the global economyâconstituting upwards of 90% of GDP and more than 50% of employment in most countries. Yet they are also most exposed to the effects of economic shocks, with cash reserves limited on average to less than one month. The damage done to them has echoed out through communities in numerous serious ways. Speed is of the essence when assisting MSMEs. Despite the commonly held view that most entrepreneurs get back on their feet after a company failure, available data indicates that some 60% of small businesses never reopen after a disaster. By tailoring the provision of financial support through the channels most used by MSMEs, governments can help to preserve the operations of these businesses and avert a worsening situation of bankruptcies and layoffs. USCIB is working with ICC on the SOS (Save our SMEs) campaign â An open letter from ICC to Finance Ministers can be seen here https://iccwbo.org/content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/open-letter-to-finance-ministers.pdf , more information on the ICC SOS campaign can be found at https://www.sos.iccwbo.org/
Some good examples of how companies are helping to drive digitisation of supply chains include: Mastercard, with BSR, has developed a digital wage toolkit to help small businesses transition to digital payments to enable them to pay their workers more reliably and safely. The toolkit is being rolled out globally with global garment manufacturers and retailers. Alibaba is providing free resources and tools for small businesses to accelerate their migration online.
Answer to Question 1: In developing the toolkit on businesses supporting NGOs through the crisis, we found many examples of businesses thinking carefully about the new situation facing NGOs, and listening to their NGO partners to find out what adaptations to the partnership could help the NGOs survive and enable the partnerships to thrive.
Weâve seen businesses being proactive in finding out the specifics of the threats to NGO partnersâ operations and challenges to the continuity of delivery of partnership activities. Businesses and NGOs have begun to work together on building trust that decisions on the response to the crisis will be taken together, as partners.
Building on these examples i am also reminded that with regard to domestic abuse we cite the Wangu Kanja Foundation, in Kenya, who (pre-C-19) runs a text-based service for women survivors of violence, which was specifically designed for families living in overcrowded urban areas where women might not have the freedom to visit services or make and receive calls.
Second in response to Q1 - there are inspiring examples emerging of companies working with others in developing more rights-based approaches in economic relationships â for example, finding ways to partner with governments to minimize job losses, implement minimum or living wages, explore local initiatives to sustain small and micro-enterprise support, collaborate on worker training to support a just transition toward the digital economy (the speed of which is likely to increase as a result of the pandemic)
An interesting example of supporting womens economic resilience (which is also often fundamental to their overall safety (eg ability to leave violent relationships) is the work of SEWA in India who have teamed up with state level electronic rickshaw drivers to ensure delivery of fruit and vegetables across Ahmedabad. Apparently the informal women workers are earning more than pre C-19. They are however at more risk of contracting the illness albeit safety measures and adherence to curfews are in place**
The most important element companies and NGOs have identified in their partnerships at this time is looking at greater flexibility - in delivery parameters, in priorities, in timeframes, and sometimes in funding arrangements. We found some strong examples of how successful partnerships are already applying greater flexibility in the crisis context. Some are seeking alternative ways to support beneficiaries or adapting project delivery more broadly. For example, Mercy Corps in Kenya is leveraging its partnership with Safaricom, Twiga Foods and Jumia to provide food vouchers to the most vulnerable urban population. Mercy Corps reported that some of their partners, including Zurich Foundation, Twinings, and AB World Foods have relaxed restrictions on the use of funds, encouraged programme adaptation and relaxed reporting schedules.
Hi Katie - itâs been inspiring to see how many businesses have stepped forward and taken action. Weâve highlighted over 300 examples in our Action Mapping Tool. Weâve mapped these examples against the framework that we developed with @Jane_Nelson1 - weâre keen to add more, so it would be great if people could share some more here.
In summary, the framework maps out how businesses can support the most vulnerable across three areas of impact - in their lives (health and safety), livelihoods (jobs and incomes) and learning (education and skills). We look at actions that businesses can take through their core business capabilities and activities, philanthropic donations and volunteering, and policy engagement , advocacy, and support for institutional strengthening.
Travelodges and Holiday Inns are providing accommodation for rough sleepers in London. They are also being fed, 3 meals a day delivered to their rooms. This is a great step forward. However there are mounting numbers of newly unemployed who are ânot includedâ as part of this response.
USCIB member examples can be found here https://www.uscib.org/business-continuity-during-covid-19/ includingâŚ
⢠Pepsico which is providing 10+ million meals in Mexico for out of school children and families; also in Central America and other regions
⢠Procter & Gamble is providing in-kind donations of hand sanitizer and non-medical masks worth tens of millions of dollars in more than 30 countries;
⢠Google is supporting teachers and students for remote learning, particularly those in underserved communities;
⢠Intelâs Online Learning Initiative will support education-focused nonprofit organizations and business partners to provide students without access to technology with devices and online learning resources. In close partnership with public school districts, the initiative will enable PC donations, online virtual resources, study-at-home guides and device connectivity assistance. It will begin immediately in regions with the greatest needs across the United States and expand globally
⢠AT&T is helping feed front line responders around the world in the form of nourishing meals;
⢠Nike is working with suppliers to support their efforts in response to the dynamic and unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 situation. Nike is also working with industry organizations and other global stakeholders to develop broad based approaches to address the current situation and help people who work in supply chains globally.
⢠Mastercard has teamed up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with $125 in seed funding for identifying and scaling up treatments, with an eye to lower-resource countries.
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Thanks Hannah - have you seen much evidence from your members of the impact C-19 is having on MSME partners in their value chains and how they are helping them to weather the storm?
A community question from last weekâs webinar:
Peter Murage asked: Could you provide a clear and specific definition and explanation on the meaning of " Most Vulnerable" in the society as regards to the COVID-19 Pandemic. in the Business value chain and in the community.
Jane and Zahid have published a framework: FROM RESPONSE TO REBUILDING BETTER which shares more on who those most vulnerable are. This can be found here: https://businessfightspoverty.org/articles/covid-19-response-centre/ .
âAs we highlighted in our original Response there are three main areas where the pandemicâs impacts on people will be most felt. Those particularly effected in their lives, livelihood and learning. In each, there will be short-term personal, family and community crises and loss, but also long-term scarring effects that could last generations without public and private support to increase resilience."
Third in response to Q1 - Strengthening our shared understanding of and preparedness for systemic shocks and crises â being deliberate in learning lessons from the pandemic and how they might apply to tackling climate change, future pandemics, financial crises and systemic inequality. We are learning some very tough questions about the interconnection between different systemic challenges and we need a new generation of âsystems leadersâ who can address this challenge.
I would like to draw attention to and talk about the unexpected vulnerabilities revealed by the pandemic. What looked solid and ready has turned out to be a chain of weak links and unprepared workers on the frontlines. There are the vulnerable as they are traditionally identified â poorest populations, low paid workers, informal workers, elderly, children, refugees, homeless, and so on, who are unquestionably suffering the most from the pandemic â but the pandemic has revealed vulnerabilities that we never knew we had, even in the wealthiest countries â healthcare systems and tools, first responders and other essential workers, whether in public services, food retail, delivery, etc., domestic violence during the enforced lockdown, and so on. To move towards sustainable resilience, business will have to do more working with governments and other social partners to also address and protect those âjust realizedâ vulnerable actors in society and in their supply and value chains.
Hi everyone. Iâm with the Frontfoot Campaign, a volunteer effort sponsored by our consultancy, Strategic Arrow Limited. Our message is that the New Normal needs to account for personal risk tolerance. Have any of you seen personal risk tolerance being respected by governments or businesses in a formal way?
Another example is from Standard Chartered, which sees a delicate balance between responding quickly to the crisis and responding in the most considered and impactful way. Standard Chartered has split their initial US$25 million emergency relief funding up to provide large grants to two global NGOs in their regions, and then provided the majority of the funding to their regions to respond to the challenges in each market with their different contexts. This has usually been through funding smaller, more local NGOs delivering great impact on the ground in each country. The intention of this approach is to be agile, move quickly, have a broad reach and target those most in need.
The potential of technology is also manifesting itself in the provision of information and support services to MSMEs. For example, Cargillâs use of its mobile application to raise awareness among their cocoa suppliers in CĂ´te dâIvoire of government public health messages to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus, demonstrates the potential for technology to reach hard to reach communities with critical information in the future. TechnoServe has also provided some useful guidance on remote provision of advice and support to MSMEs which you can find here: https://www.technoserve.org/resources/supporting-entrepreneurs-with-digital-tools-how-to-make-remote-learning-impactful/