Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
This German town has too many jobs and not enough workers
Young people in southern Germany don’t really have to worry about the future as the story of this town shows. With the unemployment rate hovering a little above 1 percent, finding work is the least of their worries. The only ones doing any worrying are the business owners themselves who are Read More...
Lyft could have one-third of the U.S. rideshare market by Christmas
Investor projections claim Lyft’s market share has surged in the last year, with the ride-hailing company on track to grab about one-third of the Read More...
China is launching Africa as the next economic miracle
In just a quarter of a century, China’s GDP grew thirtyfold, and 750 million people were lifted out of poverty—the most ever achieved in a single period in the history of the world. China went from being poorer than Kenya, Lesotho, and Nigeria to rivaling the United States for the title of Read More...
Obama’s four rules for persuading people and effecting real change
During the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago this week, the former president gave a speech in which he presented a set of four rules he encouraged everyone to follow. Rules that, he believes, can help elevate civic culture and bring change into our everyday Read More...
Is the sharing economy working?
Not long ago, I moved apartments, and beneath the weight of work and lethargy a number of small, nagging tasks remained undone. Some art work had to be hung from wall moldings, using Read More...
Uber will now let you add multiple stops to your route
Uber has added a new feature that will solve a challenge almost every rider, at some point, has faced: the difficulty with picking up friends along the route to your destination. That’s because, until now, Uber has only allowed you to request a ride from point A to point B. That now changes with Read More...
Airbnb is bringing in huge sums of money for Africans
In 2012, Airbnb hosted around 22,700 guests in Africa. That number has swelled since then, with the room rental giant reporting that 1.2 million people stayed in Airbnb listings across Africa in the past year. That translates into $139 million generated for local hosts in just a year’s time, Read More...
NHS to pilot Airbnb-type scheme for patients recovering from surgery
Untrained members of the British public could be paid up to £1,000 a month for renting their spare rooms to patients recovering from surgery under an Airbnb-style model the NHS is piloting. The scheme aims to offer an alternative to hospitals and care homes for patients who have had minor Read More...
This sleepwear company gives your sheets a dignified afterlife
Fashion has made us use to regularly changing and renewing our clothes. Today, “fast fashion” encourages people to think of clothes as disposable items that you chuck out at the end of the season, much like you might throw out used paper plates after they’ve served their purpose. The trend is Read More...
In the fight against poverty, work is our most powerful weapon
Fourteen years ago, I left suburban Los Angeles to teach English in rural Ghana. I’d expected, like so many young people with bleeding hearts and big dreams, to make a difference by donating my time as a schoolteacher for six Read More...