The LBS Africa Business Club hosted the 24th Africa Business Summit, supported by the Wheeler Institute, on London Business School’s campus. This year’s summit theme, “From Potential to Progress: Building Africa’s next Growth Chapter”, focused on business-led, homegrown models that address the continent’s pertinent development challenges and the opportunities that arise alongside. Key topics such as…
If you were asked where people borrow from for their daily consumption needs, credit cards from mega-banks seem the obvious answer. However, across the developing world where brick-and-mortar banks are often inaccessible, individuals resort to local alternatives: ‘Kiranas’ or small grocery stores. No credit scores. No collateral. No paperwork. Just a shopkeeper’s quick judgment call,…
Over the centuries, innovation has transformed our way of life, giving rise to ideas and technologies that have significantly improved societal wellbeing. At the heart of these breakthroughs are pioneers such as Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb; Malvin De Groote, known for discovering a chemical composition for chocolate ice cream; and Nikola Tesla,…
At a recent Summit Series event, hosted by the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital in collaboration with the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, Sir Ronald Cohen, widely regarded as the “father of Impact Investing” and author of IMPACT: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change, discussed the transformation underway in global capital markets and…
How do we scale impact when the path forward isn’t straightforward? Hosted by the Social Impact Club at London Business School with the support of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, the annual summit took place on April 16, 2026 and brought together a diverse community of founders, business practitioners, students, researchers and institutional…
On Friday, March 20, 2026, the Wheeler Institute is pleased to welcome Stefanie Stantcheva, Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University and Founder and Director of the Social Economics Lab, for the second event of the series Public Policy in the Age of Innovation. Stefanie Stantcheva is a leading scholar in political economy…
On Friday 20th March 2026 at 13.00 GMT the Wheeler Institute hosted a virtual seminar organised by the Private Sector Development Research Network. “Between Trust and Trade: on Informal Credit Networks in India” was led by Alp Sungu, Assistant Professor in the Operations, Information & Decisions Department at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and…
Artificial intelligence, technological disruption, and geopolitical instability are reshaping the policy landscape. In an era defined by overlapping economic and technological transitions, governments face renewed questions about prioritisation: how should states balance immediate social pressures (“butter”) with longer-term strategic and security demands (“guns”)? The Wheeler Institute for Business and Development was delighted to host Philippe…
For decades, the U.S. dollar has served as the undisputed anchor of the global financial system – the primary currency for international trade, global assets, and central bank reserves. But as the world enters an era of increasing fragmentation, is that dominance under threat? At a recent Wheeler Institute event, Kenneth Rogoff, Maurits C. Boas…
For over half a century, the doctrine of shareholder primacy has offered a simple moral compass for corporate executives: make as much money as possible. Popularised by Milton Friedman in his seminal 1970 New York Times article, the theory posits that by maximising profits within the bounds of law and custom, companies maximise social welfare.…
