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Turning Impact Measurement on its Head: A Q&A with 60 Decibels Co-Founders Sasha Dichter and Tom Adams
How should a social business measure its impact? The sector has always struggled to answer that question, leaving many enterprises and investors without useful data about the impact of their work. Acumen is addressing this issue by spinning out a standalone social enterprise called 60 Decibels, which leverages mobile technology to quickly and easily acquire impact data from low-income customers and beneficiaries. Co-founders Sasha Dichter and Tom Adams discuss its innovative model, and the potential it offers to investors, enterprises and the people they serve.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Scaling your Social Enterprise – While Handling your Success: A Q&A with Microfinance Pioneer Alex Counts
Few people know more about the opportunities and pitfalls of scaling a social enterprise than Alex Counts. A seminal figure in microfinance, he led Grameen Foundation's growth from a $6,000 start-up to a $20 million powerhouse, while playing a key role in the often turbulent expansion of the broader microfinance sector. NextBillion caught up with Counts to discuss his latest book, “Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind.” The book – and this Q&A – provide essential advice for social impact leaders working to grow their organizations – and dealing with the new tensions scale can bring.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
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Digital Inclusion by Way of Backpack: A Q&A with Imcon International CEO Rob Loud
Internet access has the potential to transform livelihoods in a myriad of ways – and financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and education are just a few of the sectors that stand to benefit. However, despite growing global internet use, billions in rural, hard-to-reach areas still lack access, representing a massive missed opportunity. In this Q&A, Imcon International CEO Rob Loud shares how his company is partnering with governments and NGOs to increase connectivity in the last mile through an affordable, simple device – the humble backpack.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Chopping Block to Starting Block: How OPIC (Now IDFC) is Writing the Next Chapter in U.S. Development Finance
The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) just survived a near death experience. The agency was among the proposed cuts when the Trump administration came into power and began budget negotiations. But with the passage of the BUILD Act, OPIC will transform into the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, with a new budget and a new set of financial tools. We caught up with David Bohigian, Executive Vice President of OPIC, at SOCAP18 to find out what these changes mean for entrepreneurs and others seeking development finance.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Impact Investing Impasse: The Case for 4-Hour Due Diligence
Impact investors are often guilty of stringing along social entrepreneurs with needlessly long due diligence processes, "abusing their power and privilege," says Andy Lower at investing firm A Different Approach to Poverty. Weeks can easily turn to months – a delay that's unfair to entrepreneurs, and unacceptable in other industries. In response, his firm has devised a four-hour due diligence process, which has sparked interest – and a fair amount of push-back – in the sector. Lower discusses the approach in this provocative Q&A.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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How Can Corporations Make the Transition to Sustainability? A Q&A with the Authors of ‘All In’
Global corporations can play a major role in addressing the core social challenges of our time. But how can they make the transition to sustainability – especially when many of their business models depend on unsustainable resources or practices? That's one of the questions explored in 'All In: The Future of Business Leadership,' a new book by three leading thinkers in corporate sustainability. In this Q&A, the authors discuss the keys to effective corporate sustainability leadership, the importance of the year 2030, and the ways smaller social enterprises can contribute.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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The Partnership Nightmare: What’s Wrong with the Social Sector’s Approach to Funding – And How to Fix It
Whether it's due to misaligned expectations, mutual distrust or power imbalances, interactions between social impact organizations and their funders can be nightmarish – for both sides. Social sector advocates Jessamyn Shams-Lau, Jane Leu and Vu Le have written a new book about these challenges, called "Unicorns Unite." In this Q&A, they discuss what's gone wrong – and how to make it better. Subscribers to NextBillion’s weekly e-newsletter can read an excerpt of the book throughout June.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Key Strategies for ‘Social Startup Success’: A Q&A with Spark Co-founder Kathleen Kelly Janus
The nonprofit funding wall is real, says Kathleen Kelly Janus, leaving two-thirds of U.S. nonprofits at $500,000 and below in revenue. In “Social Startup Success: How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up and Make a Difference,” she explores how some social ventures are able to break through and scale, and shares lessons that are relevant to both nonprofit and for-profit enterprises. NextBillion editor Sonya Vann DeLoach discusses the book’s message with the author in this thought-provoking Q&A.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise