Social Impact Pioneers

If you are looking for a bit of purpose-led leadership inspiration and personal development – take a listen. Sustainability and social impact leader Nyika Brain, joins the Social Impact Pioneers podcast to share her experiences in global supply chains, delivering impact through business and explains why resilience is the new social impact and could be the way to navigate CSR and ESG challenges. Born in Malawi and shaped by her experiences across the Global South, Nyika offers a unique, real-world perspective on how business can — and must — be a force for good. From leading ESG at MM Flowers (a major supplier to UK retailers like M&S) to strategic roles at the bank Barclays and the supermarket Waitrose, she brings deep insights into how to embed impact into core business strategy. Nyika is a trustee of The One Foundation and John Lewis Foundation, and a key voice in the Business Fights Poverty Global Expert Network. Her philosophy? “Social risk is business risk. Managing this risk builds resilience – it’s fundamental to core business and social impact.” In this episode, we explore: 🔹 Why resilience is the most important lens for social impact in 2025 🔹 What businesses often get wrong about supply chain risk — and how to fix it 🔹 The power of genuine partnerships, good governance, and listening to communities 🔹 How to lead through complexity, build coalitions, and make long-term impact stick 🔹 Why personal resilience is essential for every social impact leader Whether you're in ESG, procurement, philanthropy, or just figuring out how to lead with purpose — this episode is packed with practical advice and hard-won wisdom. Nyika’s grounded, global voice is one every purpose-driven professional needs to hear right now. Links: Business Fights Poverty and Five Bridges to take social impact forward: https://businessfightspoverty.org/five-bridges-to-2045-how-business-can-deliver-a-fairer-more-resilient-world/ Business-NGO Partnerships for Social Impact, With Diageo and Care - https://businessfightspoverty.org/business-ngo-partnerships-for-social-impact-with-diageo-and-care/ Business Fights Poverty AI powered social impact data finder: https://businessfightspoverty.org/insight-navigator/

In this episode, we welcome Social Impact Pioneer Josh Wheeler — founder of Be Broadcast, award-winning broadcast PR strategist, and one of the UK’s leading voices on reshaping how we talk about climate change and how to move the conversation from climate fear, stalling and inaction, to something everyone can take positive action on. Josh joins us to dive into Be Broadcast’s latest data-driven report, Mission Control: The Climate Conversation, which analysed over 45,000 radio and TV segments across the UK. The findings are eye-opening: climate change is dramatically underrepresented compared to entertainment events like the Oscars, and when it does make headlines, the framing is overwhelmingly alarmist — think “ticking time bomb” and “disaster waiting to happen.” But what does this mean for the public’s understanding, emotional response, and willingness to act? Josh explains why our current approach to climate storytelling often alienates the very people we need to engage: the “movable middle.” He explores how brands, campaigners, and communicators can break through media fatigue and craft narratives that inspire hope, clarity, and meaningful action — without slipping into despair or denial. This isn’t just a climate story. It’s a media story. Josh pulls back the curtain on why climate coverage fades so quickly once the floods subside or the political drama ends, and what we can do to keep this vital conversation alive long-term. Whether you work in PR, journalism, public policy — or are simply someone who cares about the future of the planet — this episode will give you fresh insight and practical tools to help shift the narrative. Ready to challenge the headlines and reimagine climate storytelling? Don’t miss this powerful conversation with Josh Wheeler. 🌍 Links: 📊 Get the full report at: bebroadcast.co.uk/mission-control 🎧 Hear more on climate action here: https://businessfightspoverty.org/business-ngo-partnerships-for-social-impact-with-diageo-and-care/

What are the real-world impacts of inclusive economic development, gender equity, and the transformative power of entrepreneurship? Social Impact Pioneers Nguyet Tran Thi Minh in Vietnam and Tanvi Jaluka in California. Nguyet is CARE Vietnam’s Women’s Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion Manager. She leads the Strive Women program—a collaborative initiative with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth that supports women-led micro and small enterprises in Vietnam. With years of private sector experience and a deep understanding of local financial systems, she shares insights into the barriers Vietnamese women entrepreneurs face, including access to finance, caregiving responsibilities, and limited digital literacy. Whilst Tanvi is CARE USA’s Research Lead. Her work spans over a decade in global gender and development. Tanvi is passionate about the importance of impact evaluations, holistic measurement tools, and research that centres women’s voices. Together, they highlight the need to move beyond traditional business metrics and understand indicators like confidence, control, and quality of life for women in emerging markets. Expect to hear insights financial health, business resilience, digital tools, caregiving responsibilities, and the real needs of women entrepreneurs. We'll hear why measuring confidence and control matters, how ecosystem collaboration can close inclusion gaps, and what businesses and donors can do to meaningfully support women’s economic empowerment. Whether you work in social impact, financial services, or care about unlocking the potential of entrepreneurs this episode is packed with insight, real-world research, and action-driven solutions to support women entrepreneurs globally. 🎧 Listen now to learn how empowering women in business isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s smart economics. Links: CGD, Gender Equity: https://www.cgdev.org/topics/gender-equality Poverty Action: Financial Inclusion: https://poverty-action.org/financial-inclusion Care: Women’s entrepreneurship: https://www.care.org/our-work/economic-growth/womens-entrepreneurship/ Mastercard and Care, Stive Women: https://www.care.org/our-work/economic-growth/womens-entrepreneurship/strive-women/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguyet-tran-8976ab127/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjaluka/ Women Entrepreneurship Support Ecosystem Newsletter sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkAv3LNgs2HzEN945gzpEjHIF8Indaat-Ebl2gkrDyfmT8Xg/viewform

How can businesses and their partners design programmes to tackle multiple societal issues whilst making economic sense? Listen in to this conversation between Social Impact Pioneers: Amanda Smith, Global Head of Social Impact at Diageo; Amayaa Wijesinghe, Climate and Resilience Advisor at CARE International UK; and Thomas Ongogo, Program Manager at CARE International Kenya – as they explore how businesses and NGOs can work together to simultaneously tackle climate, gender, and economic challenges. This conversation was recorded during the Business Fights Poverty Global Equity Summit 2025. During which, Diageo and CARE International shared honest insights from their collaboration with smallholder farmers, grounding the discussion in their latest case study and practical experiences. Together their discussion highlights five actionable insights: 1. Integrate Social, Environmental & Economic Goals – Achieve holistic, long-term impact by designing programs that empower women, promote climate resilience, and build local economies. 2. Build Local Ownership – Strengthen communities by investing in local leadership and gender-inclusive initiatives like VSLAs. 3. Secure Multi-Year Funding – Ensure sustainable outcomes by advocating for long-term financial commitments that allow for deeper, systemic change. 4. Pool Resources for Collective Impact – Leverage cross-sector collaboration to drive scalable, innovative solutions. 5. Embrace Digital Solutions – Use tech to extend agricultural knowledge, improve productivity, and reinforce value chain resilience. Tune in to explore how aligning social and environmental goals can deliver measurable business value while creating lasting impact on the ground. Listen now to learn how purposeful partnerships can power inclusive, sustainable development. Links: Business Fights Poverty Global Equity Summit 2025, including further resources from this and many other sessions: https://businessfightspoverty.org/global-equity-summit/#Highlights Business Fights Poverty (2024). Business, Social Impact and Inclusivity with Amanda Smith. [podcast] Available at: https://businessfightspoverty.org/ business-social-impact-and-inclusivity-with-amanda-smith Diageo (2025). Helping our smallholder farmers tackle the impacts of climate change and gender inequality. [online] Available at: https://www.diageo. com/en/news-and-media/stories/2025/helping-our-smallholder-farmers-tackle-the-impacts-of-climate-change-and-gender-inequality YouTube (2024). Business, Social Impact and Inclusivity with Amanda Smith. [video online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRmdJt-CAgs

How can technology, in this case mobile technology help people in hard-to-reach places and can it ever make our world fairer? These are two questions our Social Impact Pioneer this week grapples with daily. In this episode of the Business Fights Poverty podcast series – Social Impact Pioneers, we sit down with Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development at the GSMA, the global industry body uniting over 750 mobile operators and 400 tech companies. Max leads one of the most impactful teams in the world—Mobile for Development (M4D)—which has reached over 220 million people in low- and middle-income countries through mobile innovation. Max shares how the GSMA’s initiatives drive digital inclusion, financial empowerment, climate resilience, and gender equality, particularly through its Connected Women campaign and mobile money ecosystems. He unpacks how mobile connectivity is closing the mobile gender gap, with targeted programs helping over 80 million women access mobile internet and financial services, and how GSMA-supported startups like Crop2Cash are using AI to empower African farmers. We also explore the usage gap—the 3.1 billion people who live within network coverage but remain offline—and what’s being done to tackle digital barriers. Max highlights the GSMA’s push for commercially sustainable innovation, its AI Innovation Fund, and why ‘dumb AI’ built for real-world conditions in Africa may hold the key to inclusive tech. Whether you're passionate about tech for good, sustainable development, startup ecosystems, or bridging the digital divide, this conversation is packed with insights on how to scale impact through smart, inclusive partnerships between the private and public sectors. Tune in to hear how GSMA is helping build a more equitable digital future—and why the road to socio-economic transformation runs through mobile. Links: Links: Max Cuvellier: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/gsma_people/max-cuvellier-giacomelli/ GSMA Mobile for Development (“M4D”) : https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/ GSMA, #AccelerateAction: Our latest data shows progress in closing the mobile internet gender gap has stalled: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/blog/accelerateaction-our-latest-data-shows-progress-in-closing-the-mobile-internet-gender-gap-has-stalled/ GSMA: AI for Africa: Use cases delivering impact: : https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AI-for-Africa-Use-cases-delivering-impact.pdf GSMA; Breaking Barriers: How we can close the Usage Gap: https://www.gsma.com/breakingbarriers/#:~:text=Only%204%25%20of%20the%20global,affects%203.1%20billion%20people%20globally. GSMA: Ensuring food security by solving the agricultural information gap: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/blog/ensuring-food-security-by-solving-the-agricultural-information-gap/ GSMA: ClimateTech Horizons https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GSMA_ClimateTech_Horizons_2025.pdf