GLOBAL POVERTY: WAR ON WANTS!

 

We live in an era of unprecedented possibilities. Technology and innovative ideas are allowing us to optimize resources, generate vast amounts of sustainable energy, lower the cost of products and provide services conveniently. I am sometimes asked what drives my emphasis on inclusive development. The answer, quite simply, is that for perhaps the very first time in our history, humans have developed the capacity to create abundance and prosperity for all. I sincerely believe that the time has come to steer the conversation towards a world without wants.

With the clarity that the truly great among us seem to always muster, Nelson Mandela summarized the moral necessity for poverty alleviation in the following words: “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest”.

Across political divides, economic positions and agendas, I think we would be very unlikely to find anyone who would argue against that statement. Nevertheless, despite such consensus, liberating all of humanity from the clutches of deprivation and poverty is too often – still – looked upon as an idealistic goal for the future. Oxfam reported recently that the wealth of the 42 richest people on the planet is equal to 3.7 billion of the poorest and that 82% of the value created in 2017 enriched 1% of the population. In my opinion, it is our acceptance of this status quo that we must discard, first and foremost. As a species, we can no longer allow the basic dignity and quality of life of our fellow beings become something relegated to an unspecified future date.

Vision, leadership and organization are the enablers of collective will

There are differing views on the effects of social media, in vogue these days. One thing, however, is apparent on any platform: the outpouring of goodwill in reaction to posts that appeal to our noble intentions. Quite frequently, this intent even translates into some transformative actions. I am often intrigued by how much more decisively we could harness these aspirations, with just a little more organization and initiative.

Good intentions can often fall short of generating substantive change, simply because they have not been gathered into focused programmes. For better or for worse, societies gather into hierarchies. Whether it is the political arena or the business world, we arrange ourselves into teams, enterprises and organizations to channel our collective will and abilities. And I am a great proponent of the power of the collective will.

Reclaiming ambition and unfettering our imagination is the need of the hour

Looking back on my own journey as an entrepreneur – as well as the path traveled by those I look up to – translating a sincerity of aspiration into motivated action, is the one constant to manifesting dreams. The human race is capable of truly exhilarating things, when driven by the pursuit of a vision, and this is what drives my enthusiasm for the socially conscious initiatives that the business world has embraced in recent decades.

General Electric’s employees volunteer over 1 million hours a year and the GE Foundation contributed $88 million to community and educational programs in 2016 alone. IKEA’s Circle of Prosperity focuses on home, health, education and sustainable income for marginalized communities – in 2017 the company funded a solar farm to power Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp, saving $1.5 million and reducing CO2 emissions by 2,370 tons annually. KPMG’s “India CSR Reporting Survey” makes for inspirational reading as well. India’s top 100 companies contributed to or led 1,895 major initiatives that were valued at a minimum of 2% of their profits. Clearly the will to help create a better world is strong in the general population, as well as entities and institutions with a significant budget to do so.

I believe that the time has come to mobilize this goodwill, the considerable resources that are being pledged and the power of innovative technologies, to rid our world of the scourge of deprivation.