Articles by Josh Weinstein
-
Wednesday
June 8
2011MOTECH’s Mobile Apps Bridging Rural Gap for Pregnant Women
Started in 2009, MOTECH is a mobile health platform that offers two main applications: mobile midwives and nurse services. Pregnant women and their families register for the cell service through community health centers. MOTECH boosts efficiency for nurses, to be sure. But it also gets low-income patients to think consciously about their health.
- Categories
- Technology
-
Tuesday
March 15
2011’Active Incubator Models’ and Management for Social Enterprises (Part 2)
The concept of an active social enterprise incubator is innovative, but has challenges. Markus Dietrich, one of the co-founders, emphasizes the importance of being adaptable and not imposing frameworks without taking into account the nuances of these markets. "At the BoP, if we do not co-create, we are not going to be successful," he said.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Monday
March 14
2011’Active Incubator Models’ and Management for Social Enterprises
The business model for the Asian Social Enterprise Incubator (ASEI), a Manila-based organization, is based on the assumption that what many social enterprises require is not necessarily access to office space and back-office services. Rather, they need a market-oriented management to direct the strategy and run the organization like a business.
- Categories
- Education
- Tags
- academia
-
Wednesday
February 16
2011Hapinoy Is An Open Source Model for Low-Income Markets
Through its network of suki stores, Hapinoy is able to offer other products and services that do not currently reach the BoP market. The founders liken Hapinoy to the iPhone. As the iPhone is an open-source platform for apps created by outside programmers, Hapinoy is a distribution vehicle for products to the BoP developed by social entrepreneurs.
- Categories
- Environment
-
Guest Articles
Tuesday
February 15
2011Awakening a ’Sleeping Giant,’ Microfranchise as a Distribution Platform
Hapinoy is an example of a conversion franchising model that attracts existing, independently-owned businesses to a standardized network. The company negotiates bulk product purchases via supplier contracts with Nestle and Unilever, among others. Products are purchased in bulk and distributed via ’Hapidelivery’ to a network of community stores.
- Categories
- Environment
- Tags
- distribution
-
Wednesday
January 5
2011Energy for the BoP Made ’Simple’
Simpa Networks manufactures a solar household system that, unlike some others, is off-the-shelf, and easy to install and maintain. Inspired by mobile phone prepayment systems, the big innovation is Simpa’s unique "Progressive Purchase" pricing model, a micropayment system specifically designed to fit the unpredictable incomes of the poor.
- Categories
- Energy
-
Tuesday
December 14
2010Innovations and Challenges in Carbon Finance
Several clean tech projects serving the poor are, in part, financed by the creation and sale of carbon offsets. Carbon finance improves the product’s value proposition by providing additional revenue streams to make them financially viable and available at a lower price point for end-users.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Tags
- solar
