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Scoring for Access: Emerging evidence on the impact of credit scoring on SME lending
In developing countries, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are an important source of innovation and employment. But in 2010, available credit for these SMEs fell about one trillion dollars short of demand. Credit scoring can help financial institutions meet this demand, and Innovations for Poverty Action has studied several credit scoring innovations that can promote SME growth.
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- Uncategorized
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Life Without Cola: ColaLife founder Berry says anti-diarrhea effort didn’t need Coca-Cola’s distribution system, after all
For 20 years, Simon Berry dreamed of including life-saving anti-diarrhea medicine in Coca-Cola crates. After the dream came true with ColaLife, however, he discovered that the piggyback method was actually a constraint; people were buying more anti-diarrhea kits than Coke.
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- Health Care
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500 Million Indian Youth Need New Job Skills: Can the country’s entrepreneurs help?
Rahil Rangwala says by 2020, India will account for nearly a quarter of the global workforce, and the average age of India’s population will be 29 years (compared to 37 for the U.S. and China). But there’s a big opportunity for entrepreneurs to develop training that complements what employers offer in-house.
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- Education
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A Renewable Proposition (Part 2): Why the sun is shining on West Africa and solar microgrids
This is the second of a two-part article on Persistent Energy Partners (PEP) and its first acquisition in Ghana. In this post, we take a closer look at PEP’s first acquisition and its position in the pay-as-you-go solar sector for low-income markets.
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- Energy
- Tags
- impact investing, solar
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Afford Two, Eat One: A new report explores financial inclusion in rural Myanmar
Myanmar is a country with very low formal banking penetration, but changes are afoot that will stimulate domestic financial activity. In March of this year a team of Myanmar-based researchers mapped the changing financial landscape in the country, aiming to provide a foundational reference for organizations wishing to develop products and services for financially constrained consumers.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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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.
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- Energy, Impact Assessment
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Anti-Counterfeit Technologies Can Save Your Supply Chain: New products help overcome delivery challenges in emerging market health systems
Counterfeit drugs kill hundreds of thousands every year. Technologies designed to help alleviate this problem also have have relevance in supply chains and delivery challenges.
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- Health Care, Technology
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NexThought Monday – Cash Transfers, Prejudice and Mental Health: MIT researchers discuss some overlooked aspects of their RCT on GiveDirectly
Cash transfers to the poor are often criticized as “handouts,” which dilute incentives to work, instill dependency, and may be wasted on alcohol, tobacco or other potentially harmful activities. But the researchers behind the recent randomized controlled trial on the cash transfer charity GiveDirectly argue that these criticisms are based on prejudice rather than fact, and that the economic impact of cash transfers is only part of the story.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment
