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How Incorporating Behavioral Science into Cash Transfer Programs Is Changing Lives
More than $200 million in direct cash payments is distributed daily to fight poverty in over 120 developing countries. Evidence shows that the programs are working – but there is new pressure on them to enhance their effectiveness. Josh Martin and Laura Rawlings discuss how ideas42 and the World Bank, with funding from the Global Innovation Initiative, are leveraging behavioral science to help families make the most effective use of cash payments to achieve their goals.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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The Tortoise and the Hare: India and China Put Different Paths to Digital Finance to the Test
In 2016, some US$18 trillion changed hands via non-bank digital payment transactions in China – a value larger than its GDP. Meanwhile, though its population is roughly the same, India's digital finance industry has lagged far behind. But thanks to new digital infrastructure and evolving regulations, this situation is changing fast. Like the tortoise in Aesop’s fable, will India catch up with China, which has bounded ahead at hare-like speed? David Porteous at the Digital Frontiers Institute explores the two countries' approaches and their implications for other emerging markets.
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- Finance, Technology
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Sick of Fundraising? This Tool Makes it Easier for Social Entrepreneurs to Find Opportunities
Fundraising. Just about every social entrepreneur loathes it. The drudgery of seeking out the right partner, in the right sector, at just the right time is a key reason why. Sweta Govani details the Global Innovation Exchange, a new type of technology platform that's being launched this week to help social entrepreneurs cut down on the grunt work and fundraise more effectively.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Two Trends and a Caveat: The Three Factors That Will Define Impact Investing’s Future
New players in impact investing will benefit everyone across the value chain, from investors to end users, who focus on underserved populations to have impact at scale, writes Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, founder and managing partner at Bamboo Capital Partners. Meanwhile, technological innovation will continue to propel the industry. But he also cautions that big momentum means big expectations – on both investors and investees – to deliver on their promise to generate both financial and social returns.
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- Investing, Technology
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The Secret to Social Business Scale? An Overlooked Need in Moving Past the Startup Phase
How can social entrepreneurs move from the startup phase into the growth phase? Whatever the focus of their business, entrepreneurs have to build capacity to benefit and employ more people as they scale – and this requires a unique set of skills. Carola Schwank at Siemens Stiftung Foundation discusses the crucial but often overlooked need of organizational development in social business, and describes how the foundation is helping entrepreneurs address it.
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- Social Enterprise
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Finding Hidden Talent in a Kolkata Suburb: An Innovative Solution for Youth Employment in India
With more young people entering India's workforce than ever before, creating the next generation of jobs is one of the country's biggest challenges. That's why iMerit’s delivery center in Kolkata – along with four other centers like it in east Indian cities – is employing hundreds of young men and women from low-income families to provide on-demand digital data services to leading global internet companies. Santhosh Ramdoss at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, an investor in iMerit, profiles the company and shares an interview with its founder.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Bridging the Gender Gap in Agriculture: Eight Success Stories for International Women’s Day
Women account for more than 40 percent of the agricultural workforce worldwide, but they own less than 20 percent of the world’s land, and earn just a fraction of what their male counterparts do. On International Women’s Day, Oumou Camara, writing on behalf of Farming First, shares the stories of eight remarkable women who are bridging the gender gap in agriculture in emerging markets around the world.
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- Agriculture, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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Four Steps to Avoid Dead-End Impact Investing Leads
Dead-end leads are frustrating for both entrepreneurs and investors. They involve wasted time and resources, disappointment, and the erosion of relationships – and sometimes the exchange of capital that's a poor fit for the entrepreneur’s business. To prevent these issues, the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) has created an online toolkit to help impact entrepreneurs identify their top investor targets. Kimberly Langsam and Cathy Clark at CASE summarize the simple four-step process – and CASE will host a free online demo with more information on March 13 and 19.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
