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Boosting the Social Impact of Food Tourism: The Keys to a Collaborative Model
Héctor Gerardo Ibarra talks about social entrepreneurship a lot – sometimes to children as young as second grade. He helps them understand the concept by identifying a specific local problem and a solution involving something they already like doing. The same can be said of Ruta Origen, a social enterprise he co-founded to confront unfair payment of Mexican producers, paired with a solution that involves plenty of traveling and eating. In this post, Gerardo Ibarra details a collaborative impact model that is similarly straightforward, but by no means easy.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Social Enterprise
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Fintech’s Good Fortune: Eight Things Africa Can Learn from China’s Success
Earlier this year the FiDA Partnership took 26 leaders from Africa’s digital finance industry to China to learn about what's driving the unprecedented Fintech boom there. Jessica Osborn, a senior manager at Caribou Digital, writes that the immersive and intense week was designed to help participants experience Chinese digital life firsthand on the streets of Beijing, in the mom-and-pop stores of Hangzhou and the on factory floors of Guangdong. Osborn shares eight key lessons for anyone looking to succeed in emerging market fintech.
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- Finance
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The Switchback Solution: Is ‘Pay and Cook’ a Game Changer in the Movement to Popularize Cleaner Cooking Fuels?
For years, countless entrepreneurs have been trying to enable low-income people in emerging markets to move from traditional fuels to clean cooking fuels. But they've struggled with the same problem: customers’ tendency to switch back to traditional fuels when it comes time to buy refills for their clean cooking fuel tanks. Emmy Wasirwa at WANA Energy Solutions discusses his company's innovative solution to this challenge.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise
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The (Business) Case for Confidence: Why Unlocking Women’s Self-Confidence Should be a Major Development Priority
Evidence shows that building self-confidence is important: It affects how we interact with colleagues, how we present ourselves to new people, and how we perceive ourselves and our capabilities. That's why, according to Megan Madeira At Resonate, women's self-confidence is something the social business and development sectors must address. She discusses how Resonate's workshops help build women's confidence, amplifying the impact of development programs and boosting the effectiveness of businesses in the process.
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- Education, Social Enterprise
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Employee Engagement, Investor Value: Why the Time has Come for Inclusive Employee Ownership in Emerging Markets
Employee ownership programs are increasingly common in developed countries, but in emerging markets, there are few companies that give equity to all employees. Solar home system provider Fenix International decided to buck that trend in Uganda, on the request of their local employees. Fenix CEO Lyndsay Handler discusses the transformative changes sparked by that decision – and advocates for a similar approach in other companies in Africa and beyond.
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- Energy, Social Enterprise
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How Can Corporations Make the Transition to Sustainability? A Q&A with the Authors of ‘All In’
Global corporations can play a major role in addressing the core social challenges of our time. But how can they make the transition to sustainability – especially when many of their business models depend on unsustainable resources or practices? That's one of the questions explored in 'All In: The Future of Business Leadership,' a new book by three leading thinkers in corporate sustainability. In this Q&A, the authors discuss the keys to effective corporate sustainability leadership, the importance of the year 2030, and the ways smaller social enterprises can contribute.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Spinning Off a Tech Firm from a Nonprofit: How to Solve the ‘Innovator’s Dilemma’
Social impact technology startups capture a lot of media attention – leading to the impression that, on the whole, most are successful. In reality, failure rates are high. Brent Chism, CEO of TaroWorks, discusses the reasons why these businesses often falter. He also shares how his company and its parent organization, Grameen Foundation, were able to sidestep common pitfalls through smart funding strategies, well-timed adjustments and wise managerial choices.
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- Social Enterprise, Technology
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A Shifting Frontier: How Mobile Money is Reshaping the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion
Mobile banking can undoubtedly be a useful tool when it comes to closing the financial services gender gap – with the key word being "can." But as the results of the Global Findex report show, fintech is no panacea for addressing longstanding disparities in financial access, and the gap between men and women remains great. Scott Graham of FINCA International explores the potential – and limitations – of digital finance to boost women’s inclusion and empowerment.
- Categories
- Finance
