This podcast highlights how big global companies can team up with small startups to make real progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Using Bayer’s partnership with Ghana’s digital health venture Bisa, it shows a three-step process which involves matching complementary skills, linking with non-profits, and expanding into underserved regions, that can create both business and social impact. It’s an inspiring story of how “win-win-win” partnerships can turn innovation into meaningful change for communities that need it most.

Citation: Prashantham, S. (2025). MNE–SME Engagement for the SDGs. AIB Insights. https://doi.org/10.46697/001c.144863.

This podcast dives into a fascinating “crowdsourced science” experiment where 57 analysts across the world tackled the same research questions with the same data but still came to considerably different conclusions, often with opposing effects for the same sets of variables. It shows how much research outcomes can depend on the analyst’s choices, yet also how combining many perspectives can reveal meaningful patterns beneath the noise. It’s an energetic look at how science can be more open, transparent, and collaborative, proving that even messy data stories can yield real insight when many minds work together.

Citation: Delios, A., Hu, T., Yu, S. et al. (2025). The insights from the crowd: Drawing inferences from many approaches to key empirical questions in international business. Journal of International Business Studies. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-025-00808-9

This podcast dives into how today’s startups are rewriting the playbook for going global. It unpacks four big shifts such as digitization, ecosystems, fractured geopolitics, and sustainability, which are reshaping how young firms expand and how governments should support them. It’s an energizing take on how connectivity, not just opportunity, is driving the new era of international entrepreneurship.

Citation: Zahra, S.A., Hashai, N. (2025). Contemporary transitions in the international activities of startups and their policy implications. Journal of International Business Policy. https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-025-00226-6

This podcast discussing a recent article that shows how Africa’s small farmers and women entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to grow businesses by working with their communities and using simple, sustainable tools. It shares inspiring stories from Uganda and Tanzania where locals fixed old treadle sewing machines, boosted crop yields, and built new ways to reach markets. Real change comes from listening to village leaders, respecting traditions, and teaming up across governments, NGOs, and businesses to build fair and lasting opportunities.

Citation: Paul, K. (2025). Lessons to Learn from Informal and Home-Based Business in Africa. AIB Insights. https://doi.org/10.46697/001c.144333.

Green products are both cleaning up the planet and reshaping global trade. New research shows that unlike traditional goods, green products are more likely to be sourced from countries with stricter environmental standards, flipping the old “pollution haven” story on its head. The race is on: firms chasing green credibility are seeking out “green havens,” where tougher rules actually boost exports and reputations rather than drive them away.

Citation: Berry, H., Chauvin, J., Cheng, Y.L., & Lee, N. (2025). The global sourcing of green products. Journal of International Business Studies. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-025-00801-2

This podcast discusses a JIBP article that explores how firms in developing regions can turn foreign technology into real wins for the planet. It shows that the biggest gains happen when companies have the skills, drive, and freedom to use new tools to cut waste and emissions. The podcast calls for smarter policies that not only share technology but also build local know-how, reward green innovation, and clear away red tape so that businesses can actually make change happen.

Citation: Hendriks, G. (2025). When does foreign technology help firms from periphery countries improve their environmental impact? An ability–motivation–opportunity framework. Journal of International Business Policy. https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-025-00225-7

This podcast episode discusses a new article that argues that Africa’s thousands of languages create a barrier to trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and proposes Kiswahili as a single trade language to boost communication, economic integration, and poverty reduction. It presents a 25-year roadmap using institutional theory’s three pillars: rules and enforcement (regulative), shared norms (normative), and common ways of thinking (cognitive) to guide governments, businesses, and educators in making Kiswahili a continent-wide trade language. The podcast concludes that adopting Kiswahili could lower trade costs and strengthen African unity but will require sustained investment in education, policy harmonization, and cultural acceptance.

Citation: Chrysostome, E. V., Adegbile, A., Boafo, C., & Ogunsanya, F. (2025). From Thousands of African Languages to a Pan-African Language for the African Continental Free Trade Area: A Framework Promoting Kiswahili as Common Language for Intra-African Trade. AIB Insights. https:/​/​doi.org/​10.46697/​001c.136476.

Climate change is a critical issue, largely driven by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) contribute significantly to global emissions but also have the resources to combat climate change. This podcast episode discusses an article that explores whether and how worsening ecological conditions motivate MNEs to innovate climate solutions.

Citation: Genin, A., Bu, J. (2025). Global ecological dependence and multinationals’ climate innovation: the role of climate risk exposure and institutional conditions. Journal of International Business Studies https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-025-00793-z