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Why a Few More Women Coders Isn’t Enough to Close the Digital Gender Divide
“Girls in ICT,” “women in tech,” “women in STEM,” “girls that code." Attend any conference on business, social enterprise or technology in emerging markets and you can likely take in a panel on one of these topics. But while high-level discussions and new initiatives to encourage girls to enter the technology field are steps in the right direction, there is still a long way to go in closing the digital gender divide.
- Categories
- Technology
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Rural Knowledge Meets Tech Innovation: What Ultra-Poor Entrepreneurs Can Teach the World
What happens when Barefoot College, a global NGO which trains entrepreneurs in poverty-stricken rural areas, melds its expertise and values with tech innovators like Apple? It sparks the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneur who has much to teach the world, says Scot Bolsinger – along with new opportunities for rural communities to share and connect in ways never before possible.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Why Do Social Enterprises Fail? New Research Reveals Three Reasons (And Some Surprises)
In a recent study by the Failure Institute – the research arm of F*ckUp Nights, a global movement that aims to break the stigma around business failure – social entrepreneurs in Mexico gave three primary reasons why their businesses failed: a lack of resources and infrastructure; insufficient public policy support; and a dysfunctional board of directors. F*ckUp Nights' director discusses these and other findings.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Looking For the Next Big Thing: New Partnership Builds Fintech Ecosystems in Four Emerging Start-up Markets
A new partnership between Village Capital and MetLife Foundation seeks to build the fintech ecosystems in four emerging start-up markets: Poland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine. The idea is to find, and then support, entrepreneurs working specifically in fintech who have the potential to solve real-world problems.
- Categories
- Technology
- Tags
- financial inclusion, fintech, scale
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From Biometrics to Chatbots: Two Technology Challenges Aim to Help Governments Digitize their Economies
There is a growing consensus that emerging-market governments should digitize their economies, starting with the vast streams of payments they themselves make and receive. The DFS Lab is launching two technology challenges to fund new technologies that enable this transition: a Biometrics Challenge and a Chatbots Challenge. The deadline to enter is May 30.
- Categories
- Technology
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Two Billion Emerging Consumers are Only a Handset Away From Financial Inclusion
With mobile technology rallying across the emerging markets, the tools to turn the tide on financial inclusion are finally within reach. However, low-income consumers won't truly adopt the digital movement until they believe they can benefit from it. Michael Fernandes of LeapFrog Investments says educating 2 billion emerging consumers may sound like a daunting task, but it can be done.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Why Low-Income Families Don’t Send Their Children to College. Hint: It’s Not Always About Money.
Household income is not the only limiting factor as to why children of low to upper-low income families do not attend or save for university. Significant behavioral reasons are also involved, and ESCALA, which helps families save for higher education, worked with BFA’s customer insights team to identify and develop a plan to help overcome a few of them.
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From Trash to Resource: How Technology Can Help Informal Waste Pickers Solve India’s Recycling Problem
Due to its dependence on informal waste pickers, urban waste management in India is at once a complex problem to solve, and an excellent business opportunity. Kabadiwalla Connect, a tech-based social enterprise, is using smartphones and innovative logistics to help this informal ecosystem of urban recyclers make a better living and keep untold tons of garbage out of landfills.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise, Technology, WASH
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