MasterCard teams up with Nigeria to boost financial inclusion
MasterCard, the credit card provider, is teaming up with the Nigerian authorities to launch identity cards that will double up as electronic payment cards. The dual-purpose identity and payment card could initially be used for recipients of Nigerian state pensions. However, it is hoped it could ultimately be broadened to include public sector salaries and other payments such as agricultural subsidies. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s finance minister said that the initiative would help boost financial inclusion by bringing more people without bank accounts into the formal economy where the vast majority of transactions are still conducted in cash. Nigeria is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. (Financial Times*)
Corporate Reputation
Second Bangladesh factory incident puts renewed pressure on clothing firms
Bangladesh's crisis-stricken garment industry suffered its second serious accident in a fortnight when eight people were killed in a fire at a factory in Dhaka that was producing clothes for western retailers, including Primark. Police said the fire started on the ground floor of the Tung Hai Sweaters’ factory in the Mirpur suburb of Dhaka on Wednesday night. The news that the factory supplied western firms will again focus attention on their role in the booming garments industry in Bangladesh. The incident follows the collapse of the Rana Plaza complex, the death toll of which rose to more than 950 yesterday. (Guardian)
Social Investment
Save the Children and GlaxoSmithKline partner to save a million lives
The international charity Save the Children is embarking on a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the multinational drug company, in a controversial move which the two organisations say is designed to save a million children's lives. The initiative launched yesterday by the two organisations will see Save the Children have a seat on the research and development board and advising on new products for the poorest countries. GSK will also pay for the training of more healthcare workers who will dispense medicines and give vaccines. A decade ago, Save the Children was among the development organisations attacking GSK for its high price tags on HIV drugs for the developing world. (Guardian)
Supply Chain
McDonald's to reveal sourcing secrets
McDonald’s, the fast food giant, is opening up its supply chain to public scrutiny. The company is offering members of the public the chance to apply to become Quality Scouts and discover how some of its most famous products are made, including the Big Mac and the Sausage and Egg McMuffin. The people selected as Quality Scouts will follow the journey products make from farm to restaurant, meeting and interviewing farmers, food suppliers and McDonald's employees, before publishing their reports online later in the year. Warren Anderson, vice president of McDonald's UK supply chain, said in a statement that the move was in response to increasing customer interest in where their food comes from. (Business Green)
Environment
China penalises factories for pollutions
China's environmental watchdog has penalised 15 factories and companies for violations that resulted in water or air pollution. The factories either had their production suspended, were given a deadline to correct their practices or ordered to move their projects to other places and compensate those affected, said a statement from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The plants were mainly punished for excessive or illegal discharges of exhaust gas and waste water, as well as noise and dust pollution, the statement said. Environmental pollution scares have popped up across China, with heavy smog smothering large swathes of the country and the exposure of several water pollution incidents earlier this year. (China.org)
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