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A New Take on Silicon Valley: Why it’s Time for the Tech Sector to Embrace Social Impact
From the rise of B Corps to the emergence of social enterprise, the world is experiencing a true revolution in what business can be. Now, according to Tristan Pollock at CTO.ai., smartphone proliferation has brought this shift toward social impact to the technology industry. He discusses the ramifications of this trend, and why the tech sector should fully embrace it.
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- Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Facing Up to Failure: An Open Letter to Entrepreneurs During COVID-19
Leading a startup is hard. Leading a purpose-driven startup is harder. And as Mike Quinn, co-founder of Zoona writes, leading a purpose-driven startup while a deadly global pandemic has shut down the entire economy is almost impossible. In this heartfelt letter, he offers some straight talk – and a surprising silver lining – to help entrepreneurs through this unprecedented time.
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- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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How Software-as-a-Service is Helping Digitize Latin America’s Small Businesses
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model is allowing small businesses around the world to compete with larger firms at a fraction of the cost. However, as Greg Mitchell at Angel Ventures points out, in markets like Latin America, the rise of SaaS has been slow and difficult. He explores how that dynamic is changing, and how SaaS is boosting the region's small businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
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The Informal Economy is Complicating Government Responses to COVID-19: Will the Crisis Push Millions Toward Formality?
As COVID-19 devastates the global economy, many governments have designed support measures to help businesses and workers survive. But as Jill Lagos Shemin and James Dailey point out, this support may be ineffective in lower-income countries, where most small businesses and their employees work in the informal economy, lacking bank accounts and even valid ID. They explore some solutions governments can pursue – and trade-offs they will have to accept.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Africa’s Youth Employment During a COVID-19 Recession: We Must Innovate to Achieve a Job-Rich Recovery
As COVID-19 ravages the global economy, how can we protect existing jobs and quickly produce new ones – especially in markets like Africa, where youth unemployment was already high? According to Stephen Hunt and Neil Fleming at the Challenges Group, tackling this issue will require the development sector to innovate – and recognize that some of its favored approaches aren't working.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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Overcoming an Outdated Narrative: Why Investors Need to Recognize Africa’s True Potential
Many Western people have an outdated view of Africa, defined by senseless wars, poverty and disease. As Cameron Khosrowshahi and Emily Langhorne at USAID INVEST point out, this worldview even permeates the financial sector, causing investors to overemphasize risks and overlook opportunities that could benefit both investors and African nations. They provide a necessary corrective in this article, urging institutional investors in particular to embrace these opportunities.
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- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Remote Business Coaching Made Sense Even Before COVID-19 – Now it’s a Necessity
The coronavirus is forcing us all to do things differently. But as Donna Rosa argues, in some cases that may be a good thing. For instance, microenterprises in low-income countries have long needed basic business management skills, yet the development sector has often failed to deliver this training effectively. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes many interactions online, she argues that it’s time to increase the focus on distance coaching for these small businesses.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education, Entrepreneurship
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Revenue Over Rounds: Why We Should Encourage Entrepreneurs to Focus on Revenue Before Fundraising
Before the fallout from coronavirus, 2019 was a banner year for startup investment in Latin America. But Daniel Cossio at Village Capital cautions that Silicon Valley-levels of funding could incentivize startups to scale too big, too fast — leading to high-profile failures. He urges investors and entrepreneurs to resist the growth-at-all costs mentality and come up with an alternative definition of startup success.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing