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Designing for Social Good, Not ‘Feel Good’
Designing products for multinational corporations and their affluent target markets is very different from designing products for low-income, rural consumers. Jordan Westerberg, industrial designer with social venture development firm Factor[e], has worked in both of these worlds. He discusses a recent project that redesigned a solar conduction dryer for Indian farmers, and cautions against being drawn to simplistic, feel-good products when designing for social impact.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Is Your Data Collection Program Ready to Go Mobile? Four Steps (And a Free Guide) to Help You Get Started
From decision support to enhanced communication with beneficiaries, mobile data collection can be an incredibly useful tool for impact-based organizations. But for all its benefits, it's no silver bullet, cautions Sam Farnham at Dimagi. Farnham stresses the importance of doing due diligence on collection methods before moving onto digital tools, and offers a free guide for determining mobile data collection's relevance for your organization in this constructive post.
- Categories
- Technology
- Tags
- data, digital inclusion
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Unlocking the Medical Equipment Donation Ecosystem: Is a Blockchain Marketplace the Solution?
Every year hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical equipment is donated to hospitals in emerging markets, only to remain unused due to lack of knowledge, parts or maintenance. According to Vikas Meka, a blockchain-based donation platform could help – but it would be difficult to entice stakeholders to use it. He explores a solution: A token-driven marketplace that could unlock new social and economic value in the medical equipment donation ecosystem.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Surviving the ‘Valley of Death’: A New Funding Database Aims to Help Agtech Companies Avoid Early-Stage Failure
Population growth and climate change are bringing extraordinary challenges to the agriculture sector in emerging markets. But though small- and medium-sized enterprises are essential to addressing these issues, they remain underfunded – particularly in the period before they become profitable (often referred to as the ‘‘Valley of Death’’). Aarno Keijzer at NpM explores these challenges, and presents a free database that NpM has compiled, highlighting funds that can help early-stage agriculture companies bridge this financial gap.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Tags
- agtech, business development, data, failure
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Clean vs. ‘Clean Enough’: How the Clean Cooking Industry Can Overcome its Struggles to Scale
Access to clean cookstoves and fuels has only increased by 0.5% per year, well below all global development goals. To turn this trajectory around, Jessica Alderman at Envirofit International argues that the industry needs to resolve a high-stakes debate: Should it focus only on the cleanest solutions that have the greatest health and environmental impacts? Or should it fund and promote technologies that have lesser impacts - but that are more affordable and likelier to reach the people who need them most?
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care, Technology
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Staying Ahead of the Technical Assistance Curve: Six Lessons from Fintech Startups in India
India is at the forefront of inclusive fintech innovation. But it’s often difficult for Indian fintech startups to build and grow their businesses, while distributing the benefits of their work among their low-and middle-income (LMI) customers. MicroSave Consulting (MSC) is participating in a Financial Inclusion Lab, providing technical assistance to fintech startups serving India’s LMI segment. Authors at MSC share six key insights from their work that could be helpful both to startups, and to the investors, consultants and other organizations that support them.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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The Challenges of Going Local: A Medical Device Innovator Faces the Reality of Manufacturing in Rural Africa
Like many enterprises working in emerging markets, Noor Medical wanted to manufacture its product locally. As COO Andrew Bonneau explains, a local approach promised many advantages, from lower costs to a better understanding of its customers. But the company soon learned that manufacturing in developing countries like Uganda is often easier said than done. Bonneau discusses the obstacles the company has faced, and how they've overcome them.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Three Ways Technological Disruption is Fighting Inequality in Asia – And One Challenge it Hasn’t Yet Overcome
A wave of economic development is transforming Asia. But along with its many benefits, this growth is straining the region’s natural resources and leaving many poor communities behind. However, Sangeetha Watson at AVPN highlights some good news: Sustainable, tech-based solutions can help address these inequalities, particularly in financial inclusion, health care delivery and gender equity. She explores technology's impact on these areas – and flags one problem that tech has largely failed to address.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology