Articles by James Militzer
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Guest Articles
Friday
March 24
2017Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin / James Militzer
Social Business Roundup: The Problem with Sachets, the Beauty of Rats and the Dark Side of Cross-Selling
Everyone seems to love the products in individually-sized sachets being sold at the BoP ... except for Mother Nature. Ethiopia's only too happy to roll out the welcome mat for some rats with amazing TB-sniffing skills. A questionable cross-selling strategy in South Africa harms a vulnerable population and raises uncomfortable questions about financial inclusion. It's all part of our weekly Social Business Roundup.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Friday
March 17
2017James Militzer / Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin
Social Business Roundup: SOCAP Aims for the Mainstream, Cambodia Caps Microcredit, Quali Health Simplifies Health Care
In announcing its new ownership, SOCAP mentioned the word “mainstream” six times – the popular social business and investing conference is clearly aiming to grow beyond its current niche. In Cambodia, the National Bank capped interest on microcredit to a maximum of 18 percent per year – about half of what some MFIs currently charge. And a visit to India inspired a South African doctor to launch a profitable health care clinic in a local shantytown. These stories and more in our weekly roundup.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Investing
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Friday
March 10
2017James Militzer / Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin
Social Business Roundup: A Defiant Asset Manager, Salty Doorknobs and Who Has it Worse?
This week in social business, the world's third-largest asset manager is pressuring companies to add more women to their boards; a Nobel Prize winner's ponderings on inequality within nations might make you rethink life in America; and salt earns a chance to be a hero – for a change.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Health Care, Investing
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Friday
March 3
2017James Militzer / Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin
Social Business Roundup: Biblical Impact Investing, Salt from Solar in Kenya and Invoices of Inclusion
In this week's social business roundup: “Biblically responsible investing” is offering another path to the predominately secular space of SRI, one of Kenya's largest solar projects could be a model for rural power and how one company's approach to the tedious process of invoicing customers could lead to more financial inclusion in the Philippines.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care, Investing
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Friday
February 24
2017Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin / James Militzer
Social Business Roundup: A $1 Smartphone, the Upshot of Disparity and the Quizzing of Presidents
If you manufacture a phone that comes with apps advertising to low-income consumers, can you sell it for as little as $1? The folks at SocialEco think so. Other items NextBillion's editors came across for this week's Roundup included a concentration on wealth concentration, an unhappy birthday for M-Pesa, plus a presidential Q that will hopefully result in an A.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
February 22
2017Mainstreaming Impact Investing: 12 Takeaways from ‘The Economist’ Event
On Feb. 15, 'The Economist' magazine hosted a discussion in New York on how impact investing can truly go mainstream. NextBillion was a media partner at the event, and we've compiled 12 memorable and sometimes unexpected insights from panelists throughout the day.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Friday
February 17
2017James Militzer / Kyle Poplin / Scott Anderson
Social Business Roundup: Transaction-Fee Wrangling and a Reason to Pay Attention at Your Next Conference
M-Pesa (finally) moves toward fee transparency ... but it didn't take banks long to react. That's one insight in our weekly roundup. We also zone in on high-level impact investing discussions held 1,600 miles apart, The MacArthur Foundation's tightening focus on world-changing ideas, India's cash crackdown and why it could pay to pay attention at trade shows.
- Categories
- Investing
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Guest Articles
Friday
February 10
2017Kyle Poplin / Scott Anderson / James Militzer
Social Business Roundup: Laureate Education Goes Big, Omidyar Gives Directly, Surdna Foundation Embraces Impact Investing
In social business news this week, the world's biggest for-profit college company raised $490 million in its public debut, Omidyar Network gave a $493,000 grant to support GiveDirectly's mission of sending unconditional cash transfers to the poor, and the Surdna Foundation announced plans to dedicate 10 percent of its endowment ($100 million) to a new impact investing fund. Read about these developments and more in our news roundup.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise