This involves improving regulation and monitoring of financial markets and institutions, encouraging development assistance, and directing investment to regions where the need is greatest. Facilitating the safe migration and mobility of people is also key to bridging the widening divide. To achieve our overall assessment for this SDG, we rate only one target: 10.1, on achieving and sustaining income growth for the bottom 40 % of the population at a rate that is higher than the national average. Most of the other targets involve issues that we have been unable to quantify at present.

Conclusion

With growing inequalities generally worldwide, none of the regions reach the goal, and all get a red rating. There is significant uncertainty in our assessment, and, taking into account that regional differences are likely to reduce, a better rating could have been given.

Understanding the score

Five regions: USA, OECD (excl. USA), China, BRISE (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and 10 other emerging economies), ROW (rest of the world).
Green light: Goal likely to be reached.
Orange light: Goal not likely to be reached, but more than 50% of the gap between today's status and the goal is likely to be closed.
Red light: Goal not likely to be reached, and less than 50% of the gap between today's status and the goal is likely to be closed.

Safaricom: Stepping into the gap

The richest 1 per cent of the world’s population now control up to 40 per cent of global assets, while the poorest half owns just 1 per cent.

The Gini coefficient for income distribution still points to sub Saharan Africa and parts of South America as having the greatest inequality. Elsewhere, political instability and mass migrations of refugees have brought these realities home to societies that previously felt themselves immune to the problem of glaring inequality. 

"We live in a more unequal society now than we did 20 years ago," says Safaricom CEO Robert (Bob) Collymore. Children in poorer countries are 3 times less likely to reach their 5th birthday; people with disabilities pay 5 times as much on catastrophic health expenditure; inequalities are leading to mass migration in Europe. These threats are so severe that Collymore believes that they have the power to rouse the world from its slumber.

He believes that the narrative is about to change to a more inclusive growth agenda: "Many of the underlying issues that drive inequality can be addressed, and we are more likely to take action now. The pure fact of the unrealised buying power of the billions of poor people in the global markets, will at least drive higher growth margins, if not close the gaps. I think we will be able to achieve most of the targets, simply because the world is seeing the opportunities in reduced inequality."

For the complete forecast on SDG 10: Reduced inequalities and the full Safaricom story, download the report.