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NexThought Monday: Let’s Help Acumen Fund Write the Next Chapter
Acumen Fund helped create a new DNA to fight poverty - one weaving together threads business and philanthropy into double helix of impact. Acumen recently reflected on its anniversary with the 10 Things We’ve Learned About Tackling Global Poverty series. NextBillion Community: Now it’s your turn. Let’s help Acumen write the next chapter.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Affordable Housing for All – In Our Lifetime
In order to fix broken affordable housing value chains, each player needed to move from a mindset where they were competing for a limited ?wallet share, to one in which multiple players ? each with different assets to make the wallet actually expand in size - came together in significant and increasing numbers to overcome major obstacles.
- Categories
- Finance, Uncategorized
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- housing
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Housing Series: Empowering an Urban Community After Disaster
Communities like Simon-Pel? present many challenges, all magnified by the 2010 earthquake. Habitat for Humanity Haiti used a community-based enumeration (survey) process aimed to help the community take stock of its resources, prioritize its needs and develop action plans. The surveys and focus groups are tools for building more than housing.
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- Uncategorized
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- housing
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Weekly Roundup: Venture Capital Might Just ‘Save the World’, First it Needs Some Efficiency
The Forbes cover story asks: "Can Venture Capital Save the World?" But as the article points out, Acumen Fund doesn?t mirror a traditional venture capital firm. Having led a Santa Clara University study, retired venture capitalist John Kohler says social capital markets could stand to learn a few lessons on efficiency from the VC world.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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- venture capital
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2011 Social Finance Forum: Investing in Good Deals
Last year, over 300 people gathered for the launch of the Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good report by the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance. It was a call to action on the role of capital markets to create economic/social sustainability. This year, Canada’s impact investing marketplace will tackle what it means to invest in good deals.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Housing Series: The Critical Shift Toward Asset Building
For over two decades, the partnership between the Citi Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International relied heavily on a "one house, one family," volunteer house-building model. But a shift to a strategy that increases the supply of financial products and services that accelerate financial inclusion is urgently needed.
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- Finance, Uncategorized
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Housing Series: The Case for Bundling Housing Finance With Housing Support Services
Studies suggest that between 20 to 30 percent of microfinance institution (MFI) clients use portions of their small business start-up or production loans for housing improvements. While MFIs see this as "leakage" for non-productive activities, "productive housing" should be viewed as both a livelihood strategy as well as asset creation.
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- Uncategorized
- Tags
- housing, microfinance
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Guest Post: Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Customers?
Should we crafting a be a business system that enhances the livelihoods of poor people without making a profit for outside investors? Or should it make a profit for investors as well as the poor people who are served by it? To me the answer is obvious.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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