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Some Things Have to Die for Others to Live: Why Scaling Down is Just as Important as Scaling Up in the Transformation of Global Food Systems
Multiple crises have exposed the fragility and inequity of global food systems. But according to Eva Valencia and Lennart Woltering at CIMMYT and Frédéric Goulet at CIRAD, strategies to transform the world's food systems typically focus on introducing or scaling up new innovations and programs, while failing to scale down the habits, mindsets and institutions that are perpetuating the problem. They explore a key example of this issue — the ongoing use of unsustainable farming practices like tilling — and discuss how farmers can move toward more sustainable "no-till" practices that protect soil health.
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- Agriculture
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Taking Inspiration from Innovation: Key Insights from Eight Entrepreneurs Making an Impact in Emerging Markets
Whether they're working to increase smallholder farmers’ profits, promote water or sanitation solutions, or address other key needs in emerging markets, social entrepreneurs tend to face common challenges. That's why they must learn from each other if they hope to flourish. Brigit Helms at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship shares insights from eight entrepreneurs in Miller Center’s Clean Water and Climate-Smart Agriculture program, who discuss their innovations, the challenges they’ve overcome and the lessons they’ve learned.
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- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, WASH
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Delivering on Mass Market Insurance in Africa: Debunking the Myth of Low Demand
Africa’s insurance penetration rate in 2019 was only 2.78%, significantly lower than the global average — and insurance usage is concentrated among the urban elite, with minimal adoption among the people with the most risk of financial shocks. According to Ted Pantone at Turaco, there's a widespread belief in the industry that this lack of uptake means African customers don't see value in the benefits of insurance. But he argues that Turaco’s rapid growth in Africa is debunking that myth. He explores three aspects of the company's model that have enabled it to unlock African customers' latent demand for insurance.
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- Finance
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Six Business Plan Pitfalls to Avoid When Approaching Funders: Lessons from Healthcare Enterprises in Emerging Markets
Having a good business plan is a key part of building credibility with funders. But despite its importance to an enterprise’s success, many entrepreneurs in emerging markets struggle to develop a strong business plan that instills confidence among potential funders. Paul Clyde and Ioan Cleaton-Jones at the William Davidson Institute discuss six common business plan mistakes that can undermine an entrepreneur's prospects with funders, based on their work supporting the development of business plans for hundreds of healthcare enterprises in various emerging markets.
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- Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Investing
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How Foreign Aid Can Innovate Itself Out of Existence: Exploring the Potential of Market-Creating Innovation for Sustainable Development
The foreign aid sector has long been criticized for its inability to generate consistent economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. According to Efosa Ojomo at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a new approach to aid is needed: one that recognizes the power of business innovation to create new markets that advance local prosperity. He discusses a new pan-African initiative based on that approach, which aims to mobilize aid, business and African institutions to build new markets that generate self-sustaining economic growth.
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- Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Investing
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Lessons in Resilience: What an Impact Investor Learned from an Entrepreneur Who Refused to Give Up
Entrepreneurship is a long game, and winning often comes down to grit. One case in point: Arindam Dasgupta, the co-founder and CEO of Tamul Plates, who has built a thriving business in India despite the historic challenges of recent years. Sachi Shenoy at Calidris and Steve Schwartz at the World Economic Forum were early investors in Tamul Plates through Upaya Social Ventures, the impact investing firm they co-founded. They discuss what Dasgupta has taught them about the qualities and practices investors should look for when seeking resilient entrepreneurs.
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- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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We Asked Small Business Owners How Digitalization is Impacting Their Businesses: Here’s How They Responded
Digitalization has become the go-to strategy for improving the performance of Latin America’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs). But according to Daryl Collins and Maria Pia Torres at Decodis, we know little about how MSE owners themselves experience these changes. They share insights from Decodis' surveys of 114 mostly women-led MSEs in Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which highlight how digital solutions have become embedded in these businesses – and where business owners see the most value in digitalization.
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- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Technology
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Just Useful… Or Truly Catalytic? How Entrepreneurs Really View Catalytic Capital — And What Impact Investors Can Do About It
Much of the attention in the impact finance sector tends to go to the stewards of capital — investors, foundations and other funders — most of whom firmly believe that catalytic capital is the type of finance that entrepreneurs value most. But as Bjoern Struewer at Roots of Impact and Jed Emerson at Tiedemann point out, it's unclear if investors' assumptions about the value of catalytic capital align with entrepreneurs’ actual opinions about it. They discuss new research that explores what entrepreneurs really value in this type of financing — and how these structures might be improved.
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- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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