-
The Value of ‘Waste’: Waste Capital Partners Sees Value in Impact Bonds, Franchising
Parag Gupta, CEO of Waste Capital Partners, has a vivid example of how much solid waste is produced each week across urban India: twice the weight of the Empire State Building. Only about half of that garbage is actually collected by municipalities for processing. The for-profit and nonprofit organization hopes to expand with impact bonds and franchises to help both farmers and trash pickers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Social Enterprise
-
Where Ethics and the Enterprise Intersect: 1,001 questions at the 2015 Latin American Impact Investment Forum (FLII)
What is an ethical business? During last month’s Latin America Impact Investing Forum (FLII) Avina’s Bernardo Toro, said it clearly: “It is a business that doesn’t prey on people; one that creates real value; one that pays attention to what’s important, not what’s showy.” Simple and to the point, so why do we struggle with it?
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
-
Striving for Consistency: A new guide aims to standardize impact assessments of the growing microinsurance market
Estimates suggest there are close to 270 million microinsurance clients in the developing world, with a potential market estimated at 3 to 4 billion policies. But while assessing the social impact of this growing sector is vital to improving product design, there is a dearth of consistency amongst the impact assessments being conducted. Microinsurance Network created “A Practical Guide to Impact Assessments” to address this challenge.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Impact Assessment
-
NexThought Monday – Test Tubers: Why potatoes in Bangladesh are turning heads in the Andes
If you’re a subsistence farmer of potatoes, cassava or bananas, you’ll often sow your crops by taking cuttings from other plants. An alternative method of in vitro micro-propagation involves cloning plantlets in a laboratory setting. This can lead to dramatic gains in crop yields, but it’s expensive. But there may be a low-tech solution.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Technology
- Tags
- research
-
Weekly Roundup – 2/20/15: A Turning Point in the Evolution of Microfinance?
There has been plenty of research questioning the social impact of microcredit. But the latest studies in the American Economic Journal feel far more momentous. Conducted by prominent poverty researchers, and covering six countries on four continents, they consistently undermine the sector’s core social impact claims. NextBillion will cover the Feb. 27 event on the research and the path ahead.
- Categories
- Education, Environment, Impact Assessment
-
Corporations are the Missing Link: Private sector is uniquely positioned to improve newborn survival in India
India accounts for 27 percent of global newborn deaths, the highest in the world. Dasra, a Mumbai-based strategic philanthropy foundation, has been conducting research which highlights a critical “missing link” that can help India address newborn survival at scale: corporates.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
-
Assessing ROI in Educational Development: In India, assessment tools are still lacking, but change is coming
In India, there is a growing realization that quality of school education has to significantly improve in India, particularly for underprivileged students. Prachi Windlass at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation says a wider dialogue on applying a robust assessment framework to education in India is needed.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
-
Learning from What Works: IFC’s new report on inclusive business includes lessons for each phase of the value chain
In its latest report, Shared Prosperity through Inclusive Business: How Successful Companies Reach the Base of the Pyramid, the IFC summarizes practical lessons from clients that successfully reach low-income people as suppliers or customers. There are lessons for each phase of the value chain that can be adapted to the context of a particular sector or region.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise