This was one of the visions set forth by Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Faiyaz Murshid Kazi, while opening an afternoon dialogue session on Social Business for Inclusive Rural Development at the Bangkok campus of Thailand’s National Institute for Development Administration (NIDA) last week. Progress on the SDGs falls short of the ambition and urgency needed. Halfway through the decade of action, the United Nations declared 6 July as Rural Development Day, inspired by the work of the Dhaka-based Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific. Referring to the urban-rural interdependencies, the Ambassador reminded the room that leaving no one behind recognizes rural development as a foundation–not a standalone pillar – of sustainable development. As the dynamics of global leadership continue to shift in 2025, enhanced triangular conversations and “South-South” collaboration on areas like social business innovation can pave a new way ahead beyond the years of the SDGs.

On June 25, 2024, at the Albukhary International SDG Conference in Kedah, Malaysia, Nittayapond Nipatsant, Seaweed Social Business Manager at Yunus Thailand, shared inspiring insights from our pioneering Seaweed Social Business Project.

The annual Thailand SE Assembly highlights the endless possibilities of private sector contributions in the panel discussion titled "Strengthening the Power of Private Sector Networks to Drive Social Business" (เวทีเสวนา สานพลังเครือข่ายภาคเอกชนในการขับเคลื่อนธุรกิจเพื่อสังคม), organized by the Office of Social Entreprise Promotion (OSEP). Dr.Tanawan Carraway joined as the guest speaker along with Mr. Paramate Poolsuk, Social Finance Lead of ChangeFusion, LLC and Mr. Phuree Smittinet, the head of the Café Amazon for Chance.

On October 24th, Callum Mackenzie, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Yunus Thailand, participated in the impactful webinar workshop ‘Towards a Global Seaweed Protection Strategy’ hosted by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Scottish Association For Marine Science and the University of Malaya under the auspices of the GlobalSeaweed-SUPERSTAR. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for Yunus Thailand being invited as a member of the Expert Advisory Committee. 💡