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The Missing Link in the Blockchain: The Need for Trust in a ‘Trustless’ System
Blockchain has become the ultimate tech buzzword, and development organizations are seeking to apply it in projects of every stripe. But as Rose Davis discovered in researching the technology’s social impact applications for Stanford, reliable digital identification is an essential precursor to many blockchain initiatives. Does a distributed ledger that has supposedly transcended the need for centralized oversight actually require some form of verification from trustworthy authorities? And if so, who should provide it? Davis explores these questions in this thought-provoking post.
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- Technology
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Three Ways Inclusive Businesses Can Become More Customer-Centric
In any successful business, the customer always comes first. However, impact-focused enterprises often paint customers at the base of the pyramid with wide brush strokes, overlooking nuances in culture, location and literacy. Christian Jahn, Executive Director of the Inclusive Business Action Network, understands the desire to "help" poor people – but notes well-intended social entrepreneurs risk ignoring what their customers really want. Instead, Jahn recommends businesses develop a holistic view of customer needs, viewing them through a realistic lens for more meaningful impact.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Finding the Right Financial Partner: Lessons Learned from One Startup’s Success in the Funding World
Kinnos was founded during the Ebola outbreak of 2014, marketing an innovative chemical product that allows even untrained workers to apply disinfectant correctly. Its founders (then students at Columbia University) quickly received more than $750,000 in grants and prizes. But as their company grew, they had to learn to navigate the risky landscape of startup investment. According to Christina Tamer at VentureWell, the Kinnos team's success in this area—they have raised $1 million in venture funding from angel investors—offers a number of key lessons for other entrepreneurs.
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- Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Investing
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Outside the Echo Chamber: How Silence is Sabotaging Impact Investing
From individual investors to giants like Goldman Sachs and TPG, impact investing continues to gain new adherents. But despite the range of actors falling under the impact investing umbrella, the sector's narrative is largely dominated by the loudest voices in the room – a group that Bar Cudkevich of Aspectus Group argues is largely unrepresentative of the field's burgeoning diversity. She explores why a "strong, smart communications strategy" is essential for investors of all sizes.
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- Investing
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Diving into the Gap: What Separates Savers from Non-Savers?
In three years, the gap between the poorest 40 percent and the richest 60 percent nearly doubled across many developing countries. Meanwhile, the gap between primary and secondary school graduates has also doubled – and these inequalities in income and education are more significant than ever in dividing savers and non-savers. Scott Graham at FINCA International analyzes the latest FINDEX numbers to explore how we can reconcile a decline in savings, while poverty is largely falling throughout the world.
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- Finance
