Articles by Scott Anderson
-
Monday
November 8
2010NextThought Monday: A Closer Look at the Numbers Behind Branchless Banking
While the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman breathlessly reports on the latest mobile banking advancement in India, can we really believe the hype? Mark Pickens, Microfinance Analyst with CGAP’s Technology Program, says based on his study of 18 branchless banking providers, in fact, we can.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Tuesday
November 2
2010Motivating MNCs to Engage BoP as Consumers and Producers
At the Net Impact Conference this past weekend, I was reminded that, by enlarge, multinational companies (MNCs) may have the interest in the BoP, but those with a deep understanding of their customers and how they live are still in very much in the minority. Dileepan Siva, Senior Manager for the Synergos Institute, offered some solutions.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Saturday
October 30
2010Net Impact: Getting to Profit in Africa’s BoP
S.C. Johnson & Son’s venture to supply cleaning products to entrepreneurs for sanitizing public bathrooms in largely slum areas of Mathare, Kenya, (with the goal of reducing sanitation-remedied ailments like diarrhea), sounds like a perfect blueprint for a sustainable BoP business. But after more than two years, it’s still not profitable.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
Thursday
October 28
2010What Works? What Doesn?t? Applying the BoP Framework
The Base of the Pyramid Impact Assessment Workshop, hosted by the William Davidson Institute, aimed at helping them separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to economic and social impact. The tricky part is applying these important concepts to BoP ventures.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Monday
October 25
2010Next Year?s SoCap@State to Comprise An Expansive ?Ecosystem?
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the State Department and SoCap will formally linkup in Washington, D.C. for SoCap@State next year. SoCap Co-Founder Kevin Jones responds to what this means for SoCap, the sector and the broader agenda.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Guest Articles
Monday
October 18
2010NextThought Monday: Trading on the Social Entrepreneur Asset Class Idea
Creating an asset class for social entrepreneurship not only engenders an aura of solid ground for investors, both institutional and private, it could formally connect social entrepreneurs with a far wider scope of capital markets. Though not necessarily a new idea, it would seem many minds are acquiescing around the concept.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
Thursday
October 14
2010TechnoServe Sees Sector Growth Through Refinement
Two years ago, Chabruma Luhwavi, CEO of Hai Cocoa in Tanzania, was exporting between five and 10 tons of cocoa a year. This fall, his company has sealed a deal to sell more than 1,000 tons. He’s one of thousands of companies connecting with TechnoServe. Senior Vice President Simon Winter provides an update on this cornerstone BoP institution.
- Categories
- Agriculture
-
Monday
October 11
2010’NextThought Monday’: Lisa Simpson, Carl Schramm and Skepticism
NextThought Monday is a new feature I?m starting at here NextBillion. Each Monday, I hope to introduce a new idea, point of view, or simply a guide to help you chart out the week ahead in the BoP space. This week we’ll explore the skepticism of microfinance and international development, and what we can learn from it.
- Categories
- Investing