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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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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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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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Digital Tools for Impact and Scale to Reduce Extreme Poverty
Ana Pantelic writes that Fundación Capital is using tablet-based applications and e-learning platforms to change the way that families living in extreme poverty – and the program mentors who work with them – access information and build local capacity. By integrating digital solutions into its work, the organization has improved and standardized the quality of training, and as a result, scaled national responses to eliminating poverty.
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- Education, Technology
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‘Inclusion is Not an End in Itself’: Takeaways from MasterCard Foundation’s Symposium on Financial Inclusion
Financial services providers need a mind-shift, says MasterCard Foundation's Ann Miles: They should not only focus on increasing uptake of a new product or service, but on the lifetime value these offerings have for customers. Their goal should be not just to increase access to formal financial products and services, but to help end-users integrate these new tools into their daily lives.
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MovingWorlds’ Next Move In Social Enterprise ‘Experteering’
The developing talent is perhaps the biggest challenge for social enterprises. No matter how well-rounded the team, there are just going to be skills that prove elusive. MovingWorlds, a platform for connecting social business novices with established business people was formed four years ago to bridge that gap. This month the firm launched MovingWorlds Institute to help skilled professionals transition to social impact careers.
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- Education
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Weekly Roundup: Social Impact Sector Reacts to Trump With Fear, Uncertainty … Room for Hope?
It may be hard to believe – and even harder for some to accept – but Donald Trump is now the most powerful man in the world. And like many, the social business and global development world was, shall we say, taken aback by his victory this week. As the new reality sinks in and leaders and commentators try to make sense of his election, we’ve compiled a few of their more memorable reactions.
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- Social Enterprise
