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Social Entrepreneurship and Global Warming
The consequences of a temperature rise greater than 2°C would be catastrophic for all of humanity, but the greatest impact would be on the planet’s poorest people, who face profound loss from flooding, displacement and food scarcity. Social entrepreneurs are among those best positioned to improve the lives of the poor and mitigate global warming, says Thane Kreiner.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- renewable energy
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A Renewable Proposition (Part 1): Formerly E+Co, Persistent Energy Partners looks to solar horizon
The near collapse of E+Co as non-profit renewable energy impact investor has served as a cautionary tale throughout the impact investment community. Out of its ashes, for-profit Persistent Energy Partners emerged, and made its first acquisition late last year.
- Categories
- Energy, Impact Assessment
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Weekly Roundup – The Indispensable Platform: The growing importance of mobile access to businesses that serve the poor
With over 50 percent of people in the developing world having access to a cell phone, mobile access has become an indispensable platform for businesses and services focused on the BoP. We discuss its impact and potential in this week’s Roundup.
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- Agriculture, Education, Energy, Impact Assessment, Technology, Telecommunications
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8 Defining Milestones in India’s Social Enterprise Landscape
As India celebrates its 67th year of freedom on Thursday (Aug. 15), it seems poignant to pause and reflect on eight milestones that have played an important role in shaping India’s social enterprise landscape and the lessons they teach us.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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Put Down the Champagne, Pick Up the Computer Mouse: For Solar Power To Reach Poor Consumers, the Focus Must Be On Results
The 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos launched with the theme "Resilient Dynamism." Although I have never attended Davos, the international gathering of dignitaries did remind me somewhat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) conference, ‘Sustainable Energy Strategies in Low and Middle-Income Economies,’ in November. Is there a better way to support BoP businesses? The answer is yes.
- Categories
- Energy
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Working at the ‘Coalface’ of Clean Energy: BCtA forum gathers renewal power players
The webinar was a collaborative effort between BCtA, the Business Innovation Facility (BIF) and the Innovations Against Poverty, and resulted in a rich and thought-provoking discussion, covering perennial issues ranging from marketing to the BoP to distribution challenges.
- Categories
- Energy
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NextThought Monday – An Alternative to Alternative Energy: Will microfinance embrace biogas for the BoP?
Solar was once the wild west of alternative energy. Today, microfinance banks see it as a solid investment, even for poor clients, and bio-gas may follow its footsteps.
- Tags
- microfinance, solar
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NextThought Monday: Barefoot Power looks to reduce the cost of living off-grid in India
Founded in 2005, Barefoot Power has created affordable lighting and phone charging products tailored for low-income markets – including 20 developing countries across Africa, America and, more recently, China. To ensure that Barefoot Power can rapidly expand within the focus states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by mid-2013 and make safe and affordable energy options more accessible, the company is focused on a two-pronged distribution approach.
- Categories
- Energy
