Scaling up Cross-Sector Collaborations for Greater Impact

GBC Impact Initiatives™ Underway

Laying the groundwork for our first Impact Initiatives, a four-country tour of Africa is underway to determine execution gaps in the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria where business action can save the most lives.

The Impact Initiatives model will engage global work teams of private-sector players together with NGO, government and local partners in focused collaboration to achieve clear, high-impact objectives.

Henry Chang, GBC’s new Vice President of Impact Initiatives, is meeting with potential partners in Angola, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania to identify opportunities for engagement.

GBC is focusing on several high-impact projects in Africa, including:

• Closing the financing gap in bed-net procurement
• Co-financing opportunities with high-level players on the ground
• Capacity-building in government health clinics to improve healthcare delivery
• Scaling up a successful testing program to dramatically increase its reach

Chang will be meeting with key potential partners, including representatives from USAID, the United Nations Development Program, the International Labor Organization, and UNAIDS, as well as national associations and NGOs on the ground and GBC member companies operating in the region.

» Henry Chang, Vice President of Impact Initiatives, comes to GBC with a wealth of experience in the global fight. Find out more about his work

» GBC Executive Director John Tedstrom explains how GBC Impact Initiatives help companies scale up the business fight

» Read about execution gaps in the business fight in the latest edition of Business Action

» GBC strategy video

How Impact Initiatives Work

Member-driven from start to finish. Impact Initiatives are structured to engage GBC members at every stage in the process, including the design, implementation and evaluation of the projects. Member companies can propose the expansion or replication of their successful pilot initiatives or suggest new ideas that complement their strategic business activities.

Built around collective action. Impact Initiatives are designed to leverage the resources and strategic interests of multiple GBC members to spread costs and ensure maximum impact. GBC also recruits outside partners to match member contributions and ensures that Impact
Initiatives are coordinated with local stakeholders (government, civil society and NGOs) to maximize on-the-ground impact, efficiency and sustainability of these projects.

Multi-year and results-based. Impact Initiatives are not “one-off” activities; rather they will be multi-year projects that allow GBC members to plan their participation and produce measurable change in a specific period of time. Initiatives will work toward clearlydefined targets and include monitoring and evaluation components. Sustainable exit strategies that allow the Initiatives to continue beyond our period of commitment will be integral to our planning. Strong communications components will ensure that successes are shared widely to build interest and momentum in the fight against these diseases.