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LAST CHANCE to Get a Free Chapter of Ross Baird’s New Book, ‘The Innovation Blind Spot’ – Oct. 31 Deadline
Village Capital president Ross Baird's first book, "The Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas―and What to Do About It" highlights a startling reality: While a handful of big companies are experiencing unprecedented success, entrepreneurial activity is near a 30-year low in the U.S. Meanwhile, investors are chasing the newest hit app, and ignoring grave and worsening challenges affecting billions of low-income people. We're giving away a free chapter from the book to subscribers of NextBillion Notes, our weekly e-newsletter, during the month of October.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Impact Investing and the Profitability Challenge in Off-Grid Solar: Oikocredit Joins the Debate
The debate around impact investing in off-grid solar has sparked surprising passion, and now Oikocredit joins the discussion with a two-post series. In this first post, Laura de Bresser tackles the question of how (and whether) off-grid solar companies can become operationally profitable and less dependent on equity and debt.
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- Energy, Investing, Social Enterprise
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The Protein Bottleneck: Are Insects the Solution to the High Cost of Livestock Feeds?
In 2012, 16.3 million tonnes of fish produced were used to make fish oil and fishmeal feed for animals. This threatens food security and is unsustainable. One solution to that problem, making the feed from Black Soldier Fly larvae, also has the potential to create thousands of jobs and a new agribusiness sector in Kenya, writes James Karuga.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Social Enterprise
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European Microfinance Week 2017: Revealing New Frontiers in Inclusive Finance – Nov. 29-Dec. 1
European Microfinance Week (EMW), Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2017, and hosted by e-MFP, is one of the top events in the microfinance calendar and a unique meeting point for all professionals working in the inclusive finance sector worldwide. With an unparalleled program and prestigious speakers, the event is widely recognised for its high-quality sessions and excellent networking opportunities. Last year's event attracted close to 500 participants from 58 countries.
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- Finance, Social Enterprise
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Register for SEEP’s Conference, Oct. 2-4
The 2017 SEEP Network Annual Conference will bring together leading practitioners, funders, research organizations and private sector actors dedicated to promoting more inclusive and resilient markets and financial systems Oct. 2-4 in Arlington, Va. The conference will feature 25 peer learning sessions in four technical tracks, two plenary sessions and six SEEP Fail Fest sessions.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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No Internet? No Problem: Turning a Feature Phone Into a Digital Library Can Transform Lives
The cycle of poverty in developing countries is real and often riddled with misinformation. That's why the 3-2-1 Service on simple feature phones – which functions like a search engine without the internet – is so important. And people are willing to pay for it. This not only changes how users engage with their phone but also how international development agencies can engage with users to improve livelihoods.
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- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications
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Why We Broke Up the Company: A Former CEO of M-Agri Pioneer Esoko Explains
After a rapid revenue increase and the development of a mobile commerce platform, Esoko saw that it had some challenges balancing its very different product lines. Former CEO Hillary Miller-Wise walks us through the m-agri pioneer's decision to spin off into two companies.
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- Agriculture, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Solar Lighting in Remote Rural Areas: Oversold or Truly Illuminating?
It's common wisdom that solar lighting can make a dent in serious problems plaguing the developing world. But the underwhelming social impact measured in a recent randomized controlled trial calls that belief into question. However, research conducted by Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, based on in-depth interviews with solar lighting users in Tanzania, found much more positive results. Thane Kreiner and Leslie Gray of Santa Clara University explore possible reasons for the disparate findings.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise