Myriam Sidibe on Creating Social Impact Through Business Models

The Failure of Current Business Models

• 💡 Many businesses are retreating from social impact initiatives like DEI and ESG, viewing them as a "purpose gold rush" that is too difficult.
• ⚠️ Current business models are failing to address growing societal needs, leading to a widening gap between what is required and what is being done.
• 🚀 The solution lies not in more philanthropy or finger-pointing, but in fixing business models to create value for people, planet, and profit.

Handwashing and Behavior Change

• 🎯 Myriam Sidibe shares her experience at Unilever, where she worked to increase handwashing with soap to save lives, particularly children under five.
• 🧼 Despite the availability of soap, the challenge was behavior change at scale, as soap on shelves doesn't save lives; behavior does.
• 🤝 Lifebuoy reimagined its business model by committing for the long haul, placing impact at the core with the mission "help a child reach five," and embracing radical collaborations with governments, NGOs, and competitors.
• ✅ This approach led to the largest hygiene program globally, changing the behavior of one billion people and making Lifebuoy a billion-dollar brand, proving that social good can drive business success.

Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Period Poverty

• ⚠️ In South Africa, the Carling Black Label beer brand used its influence to confront toxic masculinity and gender-based violence through its #NoExcuse campaign.
• 🗣️ The campaign redefined manhood through strength through respect and taught men to drink smartly, resulting in 40% of men publicly standing against gender-based violence and increased brand love.
• 🩸 The story of Fatima highlights the issue of period poverty, where girls miss school and may resort to trading sex for menstrual pads, underscoring the need for dignified access to menstrual health.

Lessons from Sex, Soap, and Alcohol

• 🧠 Sidibe has learned that everything about building a mission-driven economy comes from understanding the front lines of inequality, culture, and transformation, often found in areas like sex, soap, and alcohol.
• ✨ When brands deal with difficult issues ethically, they can become powerful engines for dignity and change.
• 🚀 The call to action is to unleash the "chief mission officer" within, driving positive impact for billions by creating value for both business and society, transforming "mission impossible" to mission possible.