Corporate Buzz: Private Sector and UNFPA Join Forces to Address our World at 7 Billion

By: Kristin Rosella, Program Associate, Strategic Partnerships, Women Deliver

Earlier this week, SAP, Churchill Club, and UNFPA co-hosted the high-level conversation “Innovating for a World of 7 Billion.” The event, which marked the official beginning of the 7-day countdown to 7 billion, gathered industry thought-leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges and opportunities that population growth presents.

The speakers emphasized the far-reaching implications of a world of 7 billion people; noting, it will affect sustainability, urbanization, access to healthcare, and the empowerment of girls and women, and companies, governments, civil society, and individuals will all have a role to play in creating a healthy and sustainable world for future generations.

“The milestone of 7 billion is a challenge, opportunity and a call to action to ensure that everyone can enjoy equal rights and dignity,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA. “Private sector partners like SAP can play a critical role, together with civil society, academia, governments and the United Nations system, to accelerate progress especially for women and girls in the developing world.”

SAP and UNFPA also used the opportunity to unveil two interactive population dashboards that enable the UN, governments, policymakers, business people, economists, civil society, and others to make better-informed decisions when allocating funding and resources. The dashboards use SAP’s business analytics technology to create greater transparency and awareness around the core UN population data and trends. Anyone interested in understanding the impact of population growth on key areas, such as education, employment, healthcare, and gender development, can access and interact with the material.

For example, users can compare and analyze data in different categories and regions to demonstrate that educational gains are linked to smaller family size, education is a key factor in lifting people out of poverty, and paradoxically, the development of a younger world is also aging.

“SAP has provided a useful, intuitive tool that provides important global demographic data in a visually appealing format," said Vijay Kanal, Director, ICT Advisory Services, BSR.

The dashboards are part of SAP’s pledge to develop technology solutions that help drive social innovation and global change. Additionally, SAP has joined the UNFPA’s global campaign, 7 Billion Actions, which unites a diverse group of players, including UN agencies, corporations, organizations and individuals, to inspire actions on key issues related to population growth.

Speakers from “Innovating for a World of 7 Billion included:

•    Timothy Freundlich, President, Impact Assets; Executive Co-Chairman Good Capital, Hub Bay Area & SOCAP
•    Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA
•    Dickon Pinner, Partner at McKinsey & Co; Co-founder of McKinsey's CleanTech Practice
•    Kavita Ramdas, Executive Director, Ripples to Waves, CDDRL/Stanford and former President and CEO, Global Fund for Women (1996-2010)
•    Vishal Sikka, Executive Board Member, Technology and Innovation, SAP

Check out the Executive Roundtable and the InnoJam here.