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Breathing Life Into Oxygen Access: How New Partnerships are Saving Lives
Oxygen is a precious and rare commodity in health facilities in developing countries, and thousands of babies die for lack of it every year specifically in sub-Saharan Africa, where oxygen is seldom available and is very expensive. Partnerships such as Hewa Tele have made a dent in the global crisis, but the problem requires a concerted effort to scale solutions around delivery, knowledge and policy.
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- Health Care
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Social Investing’s Pension Problem: Just a Speedbump, or Something More Ominous?
The respected Center for Retirement Research at Boston College says public pension funds (a $5 trillion market in the U.S.) should avoid social investing because, basically, it doesn’t deliver competitive returns or have much social impact. This bleak assessment runs directly counter to the seemingly endless series of reports attesting to the sector’s competitive returns and growing momentum. How big a setback is this?
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- Investing
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Paid, But Not Paying Off: Why G2P Payments Are Not Yet Driving Financial Inclusion
In 2012, the government of South Africa started making government to person (G2P) payments directly into bank accounts. While that move made the payments more efficient, it's been less effective in ensuring that recipients reap the benefits of being financially included. Turns out, very few, if any, of these recipients use their new bank account for anything other than withdrawing their cash.
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- Technology
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The Private Sector’s Perspective on Sustainable Development Goals
With the one-year anniversary of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development approaching in January, a new report reminds us that the UN can and should play a more active role in educating and informing companies on the “universal” dimensions of the SDGs, and of the importance of continuing to translate the new agenda into language and simplified reporting metrics that are palatable for businesses of all sizes.
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- Investing
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Weekly Roundup: Mossy Green Solutions, Trickle-up Economics, World Toilet Day Woes
What’s innovative about moss, and how can the flowerless plant help pull people out of poverty? Electric vehicles can change the world if they’re adopted by those living at the base of the pyramid? Should all social venture investors separate financial from social impacts in their annual reports? Several questions and a few answers in this week's roundup.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment
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The Problem of Mandatory Formalization in Financial Inclusion
An opened bank account in and of itself means very little, and a sitting balance in a bank account is literally a waste of money. What does have meaning is what accumulated savings let a consumer buy or borrow at a lower cost at the right time, without having to beg, borrow (at high cost) or steal. And when that asset grows in a meaningful way, then we have something to write home about: development and wealth accumulation in action.
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- Uncategorized
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Watch Video of the Live Debate: ‘Digital finance: Full inclusion or empty promise?’
This year's European Microfinance Week concluded with a heated debate on the impact of fintech in microfinance: "Digital finance: Full inclusion or empty promise?" NextBillion live-streamed the discussion, and you can view the recorded video in this post.
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- Uncategorized
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Register Now for the Global Impact Investing Network Investor Forum 2016
Next month in Amsterdam more than 500 of the best thinkers and biggest investment movers are expected to convene for two days of intense learning, dialogue and interaction during the Global Impact Investing Network's Investor Forum. NextBillion is serving as a media partner for the event and our readers can save 10 percent using a special discount code.
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- Uncategorized
