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Glossary: Base of the Pyramid: A socio-economic group comprising approximately four billion people living in poverty.Development of Finance Initiative (DFI): Private sector arms of government owned bilateral agencies and multinational institutions, such as, the World Bank. DFIs have been established to provide advisory services and investments to build the private sector in developing countries. DFIs have been early investors in microfinance. Most DFIs started financing microfinance in the late 1990s following on the grant funding of donor agencies since the 1970s. DFIs are bringing a commercial approach to the microfinance by providing quasi-commercial loans, equity and guarantees to microfinance institutions. Meso-finance: An unofficial term for financial needs of small to medium size enterprises. Microfinance Investment Vehicle (MIVs): MIVs are specialized microfinance funds or investment vehicles intermediating capital between investors and MFIs. Microfinance Institution: An organization that provides financial services to the poor. Not for profit (NPO) organization: An organization that retains excess funds and profits and utilizes them to pursue its goals. Charitable organizations and consulting firms geared towards meeting public services often set up their operations as a not for profit organization. Non-government organization: An organization whereby there is no participation or representation on part of the government. Non-government organizations often pursue a range of activities, such as, poverty alleviation and supporting animal rights among a few. Small to Medium Size Enterprise: Businesses employing between 2 to 250 people. |
Social Enterprise: Businesses whereby entrepreneurs set up the venture as a business with the mission to drive transformational social and/or environmental change. Profits are generated, but the main aim is not to maximize financial returns for shareholders but instead to financially benefit low income groups and to grow the social venture by re-investment, enabling it to reach and serve more people. Entrepreneurs and founders of social enterprises are interested in combining financial and social returns. The enterprise’s financing – and scaling – opportunities can be significantly greater because social businesses can more easily take on debt and equity. Social Marketing: A process that applies marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate and deliver value in order to influence target audience behaviors that benefit society. Social marketing is focused on selling a behavior, whereas, in the case of commercial marketing, marketers are focused on selling goods and services. Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI): SRI is a generic term covering ethical instruments, responsible investments and sustainable investments that combine investors’ financial objectives with their concerns about environmental, social and governance issues. Poverty: Broadly speaking there are three degrees of poverty, namely, extreme poverty, moderate poverty and relative poverty. Approximately 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty earning less than $1.25 a day. Approximately 1.6 billion people live in moderate poverty earning between $1.25 to $2 a day. Approximately 1 billion people who income level is below a given proportion of average national income. Three-way Partnerships (Public-Private Partnerships and Public Private Social Partnerships): In the case of poverty alleviation, a relationship between business, civil society and government whereby a program is established geared towards economic development and poverty alleviation. Stokvel: Stokvels originated and gained prominence in South Africa and are organized as clubs and unions, in order, to help its members save. By focusing “group saving”, an emphasis on responsible saving and spending is encouraged.
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Acronyms: BAU: Business as UsualCBD: Convention on Biological Diversity CTBT: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty EEZ: Exclusive Economic Zone EITI: Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization G8: Group of Eight developed and largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States. GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDP: Gross Domestic Product GEF: Global Environmental Facility GFATM: Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria GNP: Gross National Product GROCC: Global Roundtable on Climate Change GWP: Gross World Product HDI: Human Development Index ICPD: International Conference on Population and Development IMF: International Monetary Fund IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
MDGs: Millennium Development Goals MENA: Middle East and North Africa MENASA: Middle East, North Africa and South Asia NGO: Nongovernmental Organization NPO: Nonprofit Organization PPP: Purchasing Power Parity PPPs: Public Private Partnerships PSPP: Public Social Private Partnerships R&D: Research and Development UN: United Nations UNDP: United Nations Development Program UNEP: United Nations Environment Program UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund USAID: United States Agency for International Development WHO: World Health Organization WTO: World Trade Organization |
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