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Behavioural Nudges: Mildly Paternalistic or a Threat to Economic Justice for the Poor?
"Nudges” – ie: the use of behavioral science insights to steer human behavior – are increasingly seen as a cheap and effective way to achieve social goals. But according to social researcher Sally Brooks, there are some troubling questions about whether the use of nudges for business purposes is good for the poor. She explores the issue through the prism of digital financial inclusion in the era of fintech and big data.
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Blockchain for Agriculture: Improving Supply Chain Efficiency and Access to Finance for Smallholder Farmers
Though blockchain applications in agriculture are still in early stages, they have intriguing potential that merits increased investment and exploration, says Nikki Brand. She discusses several innovative uses of the technology across the agriculture supply chain, and highlights new Stanford University research on the organizations and initiatives that are leveraging blockchain to drive social impact.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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More College = Less Poverty: The Impact of Peer-to-Peer Lending
More than 57 million students globally are qualified but have not enrolled in higher education, mostly because they lack the money. Yet banks often don't want to lend to them, due to their lack of collateral, uncertain earning potential and long repayment periods. That’s why Ryker Labbee and Kirk Acevedo launched peer-to-peer student lender Zomia, targeting nearly 1 million potential college students in Myanmar and Cambodia. They explore how the model could scale into other markets and reduce poverty.
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Redefining What It Means to be a Next-Generation Energy Company in Africa
More than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity. Distributed energy service companies face many obstacles in serving this market - from finding the right capital investors to cultivating on-the-ground expertise. Mansoor Hamayun, CEO of solar distributed energy firm BBOXX, says his company is taking aim at several of those challenges with a new financing mechanism. In partnership with Bamboo Capital Partners, BBOXX is launching an investment platform that aims to break down barriers preventing energy companies from scaling up in developing markets.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Digital Remittances: Now that they’re here, where are they headed?
Economic migrants send US $600 billion back to their home countries each year, most using expensive "traditional" agent networks, despite the availability of cheaper digital channels. But Xavier Martin Palomas with the Digital Frontiers Institute notes that in the past five years, we've seen a new wave of players and a renewed push toward digitizing remittances. Next month the Digital Frontiers Institute will launch its first course, Remittances in the Digital Age, to study the rapidly changing industry.
- Categories
- Finance
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Established Social Enterprises: Have You Outgrown Business Accelerators?
Before joining established social enterprise TaroWorks as its CEO, Brent Chism spent two years earning an MBA degree and worked at three tech startups. So when a friend suggested he enroll in a business accelerator, Chism scoffed: "Did I really need to go back to school to learn how to raise the investment capital needed to fuel growth? Hadn’t I checked that box already?" Chism admits it was partly his ego talking; with some new research on their benefits, he advises business leaders not to overlook the benefits of accelerators.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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‘The Dumbest Waste of Time Ever’: How the Development Sector is Failing MSMEs
Low-income business owners often keep poor records and don't always keep close tabs on their profits versus expenses – a side effect of by-necessity entrepreneurship. Global development organizations naturally want to help - yet too many programs offer skills development as one-off training. According to business development consultant Donna Rosa, helping entrepreneurs create business plans only to abandon them to fend for themselves is "the dumbest waste of time ever." She explains why in this thought-provoking post.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
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Better Data for Better Products: New Online Resource Aims to Close the $200 Billion Smallholder Finance Gap
The US $200 billion gap in farmer finance is a tremendous opportunity – but it's one that financial service providers are missing, due to the lack of transparent and reliable data. That's why One Acre Fund and MIX, with support from the Mastercard Foundation's RAF Learning Lab, launched the Smallholder Finance Product Explorer. A May 8 webinar will show industry actors how to use some of these new online tools to reach the 450 million smallholders in need of financing.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing