Articles by Scott Anderson
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Tuesday
January 5
20162015’s Most Influential Post Winners Are …
It comes as no surprise that financial technology (fintech) trends that brought "the unbanked" somewhat closer to true financial inclusion, dominated our Our Most Influential Post of the Year Contest. But what was surprising, at least in terms of the results of our contest this year, were the geographies in question.
- Categories
- Investing
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Guest Articles
Friday
December 18
2015Weekly Roundup: Will Narayana Health’s IPO Hearten Investors and Patients Alike?
The collective ears of the healthcare world pricked up this week on the news that Narayana Hrudayalaya is going public. Narayana has combined economies of scale and specialization to turn a profit while charging an average of only $2,000 for open-heart surgery. So it might be fair to ponder: Does an IPO mean the model so many have held up so high will stop working?
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment
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Friday
December 11
2015Weekly Roundup: OPIC’s Big Jump with LeapFrog; the Dearth of Do-gooder Drones
With a $200 million planned investment by the U.S. government’s development finance arm, impact equity firm LeapFrog Investments has now attracted $1 billion in funds to invest in companies reaching low-income people with financial and healthcare services. This week, the board of directors for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved the investment, as well as eight others. LeapFrog’s announcement hailed the OPIC investment as “the largest commitment in history to any impact fund manager.” That’s not something I could independently confirm, but it is OPIC’s largest single commitment to a private equity manager.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Friday
December 4
2015Weekly Roundup 12-4-15: Did Zuckerberg and Chan Just Become the World’s Biggest Impact Investors?
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative set tongues wagging and some people pining for an "unlike" button to click on Facebook this week. But impact investing/philanthropy expert Antony Bugg-Levine is taking a wait-and-see attitude, saying, "It’s the doing, not the announcing, we need to judge."
- Categories
- Investing
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Friday
November 20
2015Weekly Roundup 11-20-15: Being Bullish on Being Dovish
Given the dire news of terrorism from Paris, and yes, in Beirut as well, it can feel like war and talk of war is everywhere. Which is why the essay “Impact Investing for Peace?” by Durreen Shahnaz, founder and chairwoman of the Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX), in Wharton magazine was a welcome sight for sore eyes. We need to talk more about peace dividends, not just war deficits.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing, Technology
- Tags
- impact investing
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Guest Articles
Friday
November 13
2015Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin / James Militzer
Weekly Roundup 11-13-15: What’s in a Name?
According to Pamela Hartigan, director of the Skoll Centre at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, “social enterprise” is a mindset, not a “sector,” and we’d all be better off recognizing that.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise
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Monday
October 26
2015NexThought Monday – Tech Done Right to Do Good: As The Tech Awards turn 15, how to stay cutting edge in a world of u-turns
Technology is at the heart of many interventions in the lives of the poor and under-served. The Tech Awards celebrate and support these innovations, and will celebrate their 15th anniversary in November. NextBillion is serving as a media partner for the Awards, and Scott Anderson spoke with their director, Leslie Zane, about the past, present and future of the competition, and how it stays cutting edge.
- Categories
- Technology
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Guest Articles
Friday
October 23
2015James Militzer / Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin
Weekly Roundup 10-23-15: Impact Investing Recovers from ‘The Cooties’
Most people don’t associate Department of Labor policy changes with excitement. But this week’s announcement of changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) has primed the impact investing movement to party like it’s 1994. We explore the move in this roundup, along with some inspiring words on what every social entrepreneur should ask themselves, and some critical points on business school ethics.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing