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Is Africa ‘Rising’ or ‘Falling’? : The question is not which narrative is true, but which will win?
Is Africa rising or falling? Over the last 50 years, the answer to this question has been debated and examined from every angle. Reports such as Legatum’s Insight on Africa and conferences such as the Sankalp Africa Summit attempt to provide the data, context, and insight required to understand both the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s most dynamic continent.
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- Education
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Positioning Local Banks for Success in Smallholder Finance
New research from the Initiative for Smallholder Finance reveals that approximately 290 banks in the developing world provide a total of $9 billion in local funding to smallholders – a lending rate that fails to meet 97 percent of smallholder demand for financing. To support smallholders effectively, banks must be able to lend at affordable rates, offer products specifically designed for farmers, and improve their accessibility to farmers.
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- Agriculture
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Keeping Your Impact Business Team Motivated: It starts with knowing their motivations
Keeping a team engaged and motivated in Impact Business is a point of huge importance and a challenging one for that matter. After all, the traditional financial rewards don’t apply in this space; you cannot compete with the same incentives large corporates use for their employees. So what is it going to be? Do you understand what drives each of your employees to work in your business? How can you ensure they always have access to that one thing that keeps them going and keeps them motivated?
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- Uncategorized
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New Dimensions in Health Care: 3D printers offer economy, new products and jobs
3D printers remain confined to technical universities and specialized labs in developing countries, but enthusiasts believe their time in the spotlight, particularly in the developed world, has come.
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- Health Care
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Breaking Down Development Myths: Metrics and data demolishing poverty misconceptions
As you might have seen, Bill and Melinda Gates recently released the 2014 edition of their annual Letter. This year, the theme of the correspondence was ‘Mythbusters’ – tackling the misconceptions and beliefs about development in the most powerful way possible: with data and real evidence.
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- Uncategorized
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Flushing Five Myths About the Business of Sanitation
We’re continually told a number of myths about water, sanitation and the potential for companies to reach the poor in emerging markets that face daunting infrastructure challenges. My co-authors and I debunk many of them in our book: “Tapping the Markets: Opportunities for Domestic Investments in Water and Sanitation for the Poor.”
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- Agriculture, Health Care
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NexThought Monday – Money Stories: What if financial products could accommodate the tales we tell ourselves?
We constantly create stories about ourselves and our experiences to help us make sense of the world. These stories even help us manage our finances. But by and large, financial institutions haven’t leveraged the power of users’ stories, and this contributes to some of the challenges they’ve faced in serving low-income customers.
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- Uncategorized
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Weekly Roundup 2/1/14: Us and Them: Poverty goes mainstream in the U.S. – can financial innovation help?
The majority of Americans will spend at least a year in or near poverty between the ages of 25 and 60. And four out of five will encounter one or more poverty-related conditions in their lifetime. It’s clear that poverty isn’t just a major problem in the developing world. That’s why NextBillion is expanding our coverage to forward-thinking business solutions to domestic poverty.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
