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Paying for School: Six Insights for Better Financial Services
The inability to pay fees and other education expenses keeps many children out of school. What is the extent of these challenges, who is affected and what kinds of financial services could help? These questions are explored here by Michelle Kaffenberger and Lauren Braniff, and in a new CGAP publication, “Digital Finance and Innovations in Financing for Education.”
- Categories
- Education
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Creative Climbing: How Impact Enterprises are Overcoming Obstacles in East Africa
In 2016, Intellecap undertook a study to better understand how East African impact entrepreneurs manage to design viable business models despite the various market challenges. The insights from the study can inform inclusive development in the region and across the global south. The study classified impact enterprises across three levers based on their interaction with the BoP: access, ability and knowledge.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Social Business Roundup: Laureate Education Goes Big, Omidyar Gives Directly, Surdna Foundation Embraces Impact Investing
In social business news this week, the world's biggest for-profit college company raised $490 million in its public debut, Omidyar Network gave a $493,000 grant to support GiveDirectly's mission of sending unconditional cash transfers to the poor, and the Surdna Foundation announced plans to dedicate 10 percent of its endowment ($100 million) to a new impact investing fund. Read about these developments and more in our news roundup.
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- Education, Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise
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The Bridge International Controversy: Ignore ‘Fabricated Information’ – Bridge is Disrupting the Failing Status Quo
Bridge International Academies Co-Founder Shannon May, responding to criticism, says Bridge is out to change the status quo: "Our innovative model is proving that education can be delivered at a very low cost in the poorest parts of the world and, more than that, the level of education provided can be better than other alternatives."
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- Education, Social Enterprise
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The Bridge International Controversy: Bridge Schools ‘Undermine the Rule of Law, Transparency and Fundamental Rights’
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is concerned about the direction Bridge International Academies is headed, says Sylvain Aubry, and those "concerns are based on real, substantiated, independent evidence that not only the Bridge business model may be shaky, but that Bridge schools could undermine ... the rule of law, transparency and fundamental rights."
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- Education, Social Enterprise
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Social Business Roundup: Debating UBI in India, Pondering Change at WHO, Questioning SRI
In this week's social business roundup, our editors note the growing debate over replacing welfare programs with a universal basic income (UBI) in India, the limitations of WHO's donor-funded model, and an ironic side-effect of SRI's avoidance of "sin stocks" – among other developments making recent headlines.
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- Energy, Health Care, Investing
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Leveraging India’s Digital Transformation: Three Lessons for MFIs
As India continues its digital transformation, Grameen Foundation India has helped several MFIs transition to a digital financial services platform, and along the way developed some key lessons MFIs should keep in mind: conduct a thorough analysis of your business requirements before you select a digital financial services provider; don't discount the value of effective change management; and pay close attention to client education.
- Categories
- Technology
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Microfinance for Refugee Populations: What We’ve Learned and Where to Go Next
Currently, 21.3 million people are registered with United Nations agencies as refugees, and their financial inclusion has become a matter of importance and urgency. The Social Performance Task Force has been working to identify the refugees' needs and recently compiled some guidelines, “Serving Refugee Populations: The Next Financial Inclusion Frontier,” for financial service providers.
- Categories
- Finance
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