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How to Build a Career that Will Change the World: Six Keys to Shifting Your Work Toward Social Impact
With the rise of remote work, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed many people's professional lives. But Roshan Paul at the Amani Institute points out that the crisis has also had a profound impact on young professionals, prompting a global reassessment of the meaning of work. With millions of people questioning the very purpose of their work and pushing their organizations to address social problems, he explores the movement towards impact-first work, sharing insights from his new book “The New Reason to Work: How to Build a Career That Will Change the World.”
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
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NextBillion’s 2022 Reader and Guest Writer Survey: Share Your Views and Help Shape Our Coverage
As an open forum for the development through enterprise sector, almost all of NextBillion's content is guest written. That's why it's important for us to check in periodically with our writers and readers, to get a better sense of how well our coverage is suiting your needs – and what we could do better. To that end, we've put together a brief, six-question survey, and we invite both writers and readers to share your views. Your input will be highly valuable as we work to highlight the businesses, innovations, debates and leaders that are shaping the sector.
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- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Education, Energy, Environment, Finance, Health Care, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology, WASH
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Charting a Pathway to Scale Through Government: Adapting a Girls’ Empowerment Program to a Public School Setting
BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program supports vulnerable young women through group training focused on education and social/economic empowerment. But despite its longevity and impact, the program has lacked a path to self-sufficiency and scale. Esau Tugume and Jenna Grzeslo at BRAC discuss a solution to this challenge: adapting ELA to an after-school setting in Uganda, allowing it to be scaled through public schools. They explore this model, and share how they've navigated the issues that can arise when leveraging government involvement in pursuit of scale.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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Under-Skilled and Outdated: Why India Could Lose Out on Nearly $1 Trillion in GDP if it Fails to Upskill its SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for around $700 billion – roughly 27% – of India’s $2.6 trillion gross domestic product. But impressive as those numbers sound, Samir Sathe at Wadhwani Foundation points out that they're nowhere near the 40% of GDP that policymakers hope SMEs will generate in the coming years. He explains why India could lose out on around $0.75 trillion in SME contributions to GDP by 2027 if it fails to prioritize and fund skill development efforts, and discusses what the public and private sectors can do to train entrepreneurs more effectively.
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- Education
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Monitoring and Evaluation in E-Learning: Five M&E Practices to Measure and Boost the Impact of Online Education Programs
Educational institutions, businesses, nonprofits and other organizations have turned to e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis, and these approaches are likely to remain prevalent in a post-pandemic world. According to Yaquta Kanchwala Fatehi of the William Davidson Institute and Salma Elbeblawi of Soliya, virtual exchange is an area of particular interest and innovation within the broader online education space. They share five key monitoring and evaluation insights that can strengthen these programs in real time – and that can be applied to a variety of e-learning programs.
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- Education, Impact Assessment, Technology
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An Engaging Approach to Entrepreneurship Training: Four Free Case Studies Highlight Solutions to Business Dilemmas in Emerging Markets
Entrepreneurs in emerging markets face a number of common challenges when growing their businesses, yet there is a lack of affordable and accessible training tools geared specifically to their needs. To help fill that gap, the William Davidson Institute (WDI)'s Entrepreneurship Development Center has published four free case studies exploring dilemmas faced by small businesses on the path to growth. WDI's Amy Gillett and Kristin Babbie Kelterborn highlight these studies, which can be put to use in entrepreneurship training programs or used by entrepreneurs themselves.
- Categories
- Education
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‘Earn While You Learn’: Empowering Indigenous Students with Professional Skills in India and Beyond
Some 8.6% of India’s population is indigenous, and this tribal population faces a vicious cycle of poverty fueled by a lack of formal learning opportunities. After growing up in poverty himself, Achyuta Samanta founded the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences to provide vocational training to tribal students. He explains how the model, which includes an "earn while you learn" program, supports economic growth, entrepreneurship and community development, enabling students to work themselves and their families out of poverty.
- Categories
- Education
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Leveraging Tech During the Pandemic: How Apps Can Protect Lives in Developing Countries
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, vulnerable communities in many developing countries are dealing with a lack of accurate information about the virus – and facing the broader challenge of limited healthcare access. Bowen Khong at ForexToStock profiles some organizations that have responded to these challenges with innovative, healthcare-focused apps. He explores how these apps are fighting misinformation and connecting people in hard-hit communities to the care they need, and explains why impact investors should keep a close eye on these health tech solutions.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education, Health Care, Technology