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The Missing Piece of the Fintech Puzzle: How Local, Informal Networks Play a Crucial Role in Remittances
The spread of fintech is bringing millions of emerging markets customers – and their relations – into the realm of formal finance. But though they're powered by futuristic technologies, fintech initiatives are often built on complex community networks and informal methods of transacting that have existed for centuries. Researchers Daivi Rodima Taylor and Bill Maurer explore the implications of these roles, relationships and social intermediaries for financial service design.
- Categories
- Finance
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Who Owns Poverty?: A Q&A with Fundación Paraguaya Founder and CEO Martin Burt
Why do so many anti-poverty efforts fail? And what should we do differently? In his new book, "Who Owns Poverty," Fundación Paraguaya founder and CEO Martin Burt explores those questions from the viewpoint of the real experts: poor families themselves. He presents some key insights from the book in this Q&A – and the book is available to NextBillion readers at a discount (or as a free e-book)!
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
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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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Universities Must Teach Their Budding Scientists Entrepreneurship
As Africa continues to develop, there will be growing demand for experts who can address its social and economic needs. According to professors Karl Kunert and Christopher Cullis, the region's budding scientists can help meet that demand by acquiring business-oriented skills - but these skills aren’t usually part of their training. They explore the benefits of teaching students to turn scientific innovations into business opportunities, and the key role universities can play.
- Categories
- Education
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The Planetary Potential of Banishing Kerosene Lighting – And How Entrepreneurship Can Help
Kerosene lamps are still used by hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. They contribute to climate change by releasing not only CO2 but also black carbon, an especially potent greenhouse gas. What's more, they exact a grim human toll, from burns and fires to toxic smoke and poisoning hazards. Alicia Oberholzer and Fid Thompson at Solar Sister call for an end to kerosene lighting, and highlight how women's entrepreneurship can make it happen.
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- Energy, Social Enterprise
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The Business Roundtable Announcement: How We Can Ensure It’s Part of a Paradigm Shift – and Not Just Window Dressing
Last week members of the Business Roundtable, an organization comprised of CEOs of some of the world’s largest corporations, signed a statement "modernizing its principles on the role of a corporation." They declared that the purpose of a corporation is to create value for employees, suppliers, customers and communities – not just shareholders. At face value, it's a game-changing announcement. Impact investing pioneer Margot Brandenburg explores how to hold these companies accountable to it.
- Categories
- Investing
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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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Yes, Your Pitch Deck is That Important: Here’s How to Get Investors’ Attention and Raise Your First $100K
Entrepreneurs often have a lot of misconceptions around fundraising when they start their business. And according to Mehak Malik, Investment Associate at Beyond Capital Fund, these misunderstandings can undermine one key element of their success: the all-important pitch deck. She discusses the questions entrepreneurs need to ask themselves before drafting a pitch deck, based on a recent series of entrepreneur workshops from Beyond Capital and ANDE.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
