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Deploying Gender Lens Investing to Create Inclusive Economic Opportunities in Latin America
Gender lens investing has the potential to drive inclusive economic opportunities for women, their families and communities in Latin America. As Carmen Correa at Pro Mujer explains, the need for these efforts is clear: Only 5% of investment fund capital in the region goes to companies led by women, and just 14% of Latin American companies are women-owned. She shares three emerging insights that will be crucial to the success of gender lens investing in Latin America, and discusses how Pro Mujer is working to expand investments and advance women’s equality in the region.
- Categories
- Investing
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Overcoming the Limitations of Donations: An English Education Nonprofit in India Transitions to Social Enterprise
Access to quality English language instruction has become a key to upward mobility in the developing world. But as Andrew Spearing and Nilabh Agrawal at Instilt Educate point out, for nonprofits in the English education space that are looking to rapidly scale, the donation-only model is a non-starter. They discuss the limitations of the nonprofit revenue model, and explore how Instilt Educate has navigated the challenges it has encountered in launching a paid element to complement its usual donation-based fundraising.
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- Education, Social Enterprise
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To Stop Climate Catastrophe, Invest in Clean Cooking: Exploring the Lack of Funding – And Signs of Progress – In the Industry
As devastating heat waves and wildfires become an unwelcome part of summer around the world, it's clear that climate change is no longer a future risk we need to prepare for, but an ongoing crisis we need to navigate. To tackle this challenge, Dymphna van der Lans at the Clean Cooking Alliance argues that the world needs to phase out inefficient, greenhouse gas-emitting cooking methods like wood- and charcoal-burning fires – but for that to happen, funders will need to step up. She explores the lack of funding that has typically plagued the clean cooking sector, and discusses some promising signs of growing momentum.
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- Energy, Environment
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The Untapped Opportunity in African Healthcare: How to Establish a Stronger Private Sector by Giving Doctors a Voice
Africa has around 16% of the world’s population but accounts for around 23% of the global disease burden – and according to Mark Wien at PocketPatientMD, the private sector should be well-placed to address the continent's growing healthcare challenges. But across the region, for-profit providers are dealing with several obstacles that are hindering their growth. He explores the key challenges these providers – and the broader private healthcare sector – are facing, and discusses how businesses like PocketPatientMD are working to overcome them.
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- Health Care
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Social Enterprises Can Grow Their Revenue and Impact by Partnering with Corporations – Here’s How to Support Them
Against the backdrop of cascading global crises, a growing number of corporations are looking to social enterprises to advance their environmental, social and governance goals. To capitalize on this opportunity to scale social enterprises' revenue and impact, Alexandra Nemeth at MovingWorlds argues that support organizations like impact investors and accelerators should prioritize corporate readiness. She explores five key trends that are driving the momentum behind corporate partnerships with social enterprises, and five ways to build these enterprises' capacity for successful partnerships.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Cashing In on Sustainability: A Blended Finance Program Aims to Fight Climate Change by Catalyzing SME Investment in the Peruvian Amazon
Peru has lost an average of 100,000 hectares of rainforest per year since 2006, as illicit, extractive businesses are pushing the Amazon ecosystem closer to total collapse. But as Luis Garate at USAID CATALYZE Peru and Rocio Perez Torres at Palladium point out, without access to financing, the sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could take the place of illegal, extractive businesses are often left out of market growth. They discuss how CATALYZE is partnering with private sector financial service providers and investors to mobilize capital for sustainable SMEs in this vital region.
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- Environment, Investing
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Bringing Digital Innovation to the Global Art Market: An Innovative Platform Connects International Buyers to Emerging Markets Artists
Business models across all industries are rapidly embracing digital technology. But as Srikaran Masabathula at TapArt explains, the global art market remains stuck in its centuries-old, brick-and-mortar sales and distribution model – a model that perpetuates the age-old inequities in the art world, preventing talented artists from emerging economies from selling their artwork to global art buyers. He explores how TapArt is leveraging digital innovation to address these critical shortcomings and create a vibrant connection between art lovers and artists worldwide.
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- Technology, Telecommunications
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From One Crisis to Another: Using Data from COVID to Meet the Looming Challenge of Food Insecurity
Due to a tragic combination of events, countries around the world are facing a widespread and serious food shortage, with the number of severely hungry people projected to swell to 323 million over the course of 2022. Scott Graham, Andree Simon and Anahit Tevosyan at FINCA share data – initially gathered to inform FINCA's COVID-19 response – that shows the impact of this crisis on low-income customers. They explore how financial inclusion organizations can adapt their support to help customers stave off the worst effects of the escalating food crisis.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Environment, Finance