THE POWER OF PEOPLE, PLACES & FIRMS
Reading Time: 3 minutesAt their best, incubators and accelerators are the beating heart of the local business community. By combining physical working spaces with financing, training and mentoring, they can mean the difference between a business thriving and never getting off the ground. But what does it actually take to build an incubator or accelerator that delivers?
Reading Time: 4 minutesThousands travel into Alba Iulia daily for work, school and services, while rural businesses supply food, goods and visitors that strengthen the city in return. The relationship runs both ways. What lessons can be drawn on building skills, mobility and collaboration between rural and urban communities?
Reading Time: 5 minutesAt just 16 years old, while working in a bakery in Paraguay, Vanessa realised she had found her calling. While others continued their studies, she chose a different path, staying close to the work that inspired her most: serving customers with care, leading a team and delivering quality products while supporting local producers. While young entrepreneurs remain largely underrepresented across Europe, how was Vanessa able to turn her vision into a reality?
Reading Time: 4 minutesLas comunidades rurales de América Latina producen gran parte de los alimentos, energía y minerales de los que depende el mundo. Sin embargo, para la mayoría de los habitantes rurales, la promesa de una prosperidad duradera sigue siendo inalcanzable porque a: pesar de esta riqueza, el trabajo informal e inseguro sigue presente, debilitando los medios de vida, servicios y oportunidades a largo plazo.
Reading Time: 12 minutesIndia’s rural areas are developing at an extraordinary rate, posing both challenges and opportunities to rethink development at a large scale. Recorded live from the OECD Rural Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Shayne MacLachlan speaks with Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary to the Government in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, about how India’s fascinating track-record of rural transformation can offer practical lessons to policymakers everywhere.
Reading Time: 11 minutesWith hundreds of sustainability and impact labels in circulation, how can consumers, policymakers and investors identify organisations that really do put people over profit? In this episode, Shayne MacLachlan is joined by Ruben Rebelo from the European Commission and Sofija Rakcejeva from the OECD to explore how labels can do more than just make social economy more visible and easier to support but also help people do better.
Reading Time: 4 minutesLatin America’s rural communities produce much of the food, energy and minerals the world depends on. Yet for many rural residents, the promise of lasting prosperity often remains out of reach – because despite this wealth, insecure and informal work is widespread, undermining livelihoods, services, and long-term opportunity. But with the right tools and trust in place, rural regions can move from informality to inclusion.
Reading Time: 4 minutesAcross the OECD, regions are scrambling for the skills needed to boost regional prosperity. For many, mobilising diaspora communities could help bolster the workforce, investment, and civic energy. Pairing quick fixes and core place-based investments in attractiveness factors like housing and public services can turn attachment into arrivals and long-term retention. The time is right: the pool of potential returners is large, and we are getting a handle on what works. Regions should act now to convert existing attachment into renewed demographic and socio-economic vitality.