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.
Almost every economist agrees: Uber makes us better off
Much of economics is controversial. Asked to give their take on any given issue, you can expect two economists to put forward at least three different arguments. But on the issue of competition, there is an unusual level of harmony. That is why, when asked on the question of whether services like Read More...
More than 6 million companies vow to act on climate change
Not a handful, not a few hundred, not even thousands, but 6 million companies have made it very clear during the final business meeting of Climate Week in New York City that they want a strong climate deal at the UN Climate Convention in Paris this December. In just the past week alone we’ve seen Read More...
This guy makes hipster shoes in Africa. But don't call him a social entrepreneur
When he was 24, Tal Dehtiar found himself on a bus with a gun at his head. He was hitchhiking through South America at the time, fresh off of graduating from business school. It was while on a bus in Brazil that a gunman boarded, demanding that everyone hand over their belongings. Dehtiar refused. Read More...
Car-sharing service car2go goes luxe with Mercedes
Car-sharing service car2go is injecting a little luxe into its lineup. The Daimler-owned company, which has more than 1 million registered members in 29 cities globally, is adding 75 four-door Mercedes-Benz B-class vehicles to its fleet in Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver. The pilot program, which Read More...
Uber to become accessible inside hundreds of apps in China
Uber today announced it will enable a wide range of apps in China to embed the ability to grab an Uber ride. This could make Uber ubiquitous in China as apps for maps, travel, local listings, or pretty much anything else could put in an Uber button for their users. Uber is doing this by making its Read More...
Uber debuts a commuter service in China
Uber launched a long-distance carpooling option for commuters in Chengdu, China. Now that China's leading ride-hailing company, Didi Kuaidi, has forged a partnership with Lyft, Uber is facing pressure to step up its game in the region. Though Uber has already invested about $1 billion in the Read More...
Dutch team launches free 'Airbnb' site for refugees
Three young Dutch start-up entrepreneurs have launched a website to find temporary accommodation for refugees fleeing to Europe, modelled on the popular Airbnb home rental site. But on Refugee Hero, created in just four days and launched on Monday, no money changes hands. Instead private Read More...
Mapped: how the sharing economy is sweeping the world
The UK is the European capital of the sharing economy, accounting for one-in-10 of the world's companies in this new digital sector, more than Europe's next three most prolific hubs – France, Spain and Germany – combined. However, the US is the reigning champion, producing more than half of the Read More...
Ride-sharing apps vie to replace private car ownership in Vietnam
A young, tech-savvy population short on cars but big on smartphones is driving double-digit growth for ride-hailing apps Uber and GrabTaxi in Vietnam, and inspiring some executives to dream of replacing private car ownership altogether. Uber launched its service in Vietnam last year and says Ho Chi Read More...
The evolution of the sharing economy
With the rise of services such as TaskRabbit and WeSwap, alongside market leaders such as Airnnn and Uber, we have entered the age of the ‘trust economy’. Also known as the sharing or peer-to-peer economy, the trust economy allows individuals to provide a service, often at a cheaper rate than Read More...