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Five Reasons NGOs and Social Enterprises are Going Cashless
With over 250 services deployed in 89 countries worldwide, mobile money has enjoyed explosive growth among consumers in emerging markets. But digital payments are also transforming the work of development-focused organizations, many of which are shifting their bulk payment systems from cash to digital. This post explores the far-reaching organizational and financial benefits of this approach.
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Consent as Conversation: Lean research in vulnerable settings
Whether research unfolds in Harvard Square or a remote village, in our home communities or in a context with which we are newly familiar, we hope to question our assumptions on agency, power, risk, and vulnerability. In this post, the authors focus on making informed consent a truly meaningful process, particularly when conducting research in vulnerable settings.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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NexThought Monday – What Stands Between Women and Full Financial Inclusion?
Opening a bank account – as more than 200 million people have done since India's financial inclusion push – is an important first step toward empowerment. But simply having an account is not enough; many women in India own bank accounts but lack full freedom to use them.
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Weekly Roundup: Ending India’s Economic Caste Calcification and Gates Superpowers
The cultural, religious, racial and political implications of India’s complex caste system continue to roil many parts of the country. This week saw protests in Haryana State that killed 19 people people and crippled parts of New Delhi’s water supply. But many voices called for a new economic future, we echo them in the weekly roundup. Plus, why the Gateses took off their capes and encouraged #SuperPowerForGood in their annual letter.
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- Energy
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Building a Collaborative Social Impact Measurement Operating System
If social sector organizations truly want to compete against the large corporations, they must build an efficient performance management system where even the small organization can derive value and understand their limitations.
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- Impact Assessment
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The Hard Facts on ‘Soft Data’: Determining risk for loan applicants without credit scores is more than a numbers game
Research has shown that judging creditworthiness based on a single number can shortchange lenders as well as borrowers, and that a more comprehensive picture based on “soft information” as well as numbers can serve as a firmer basis for judging risk of default. This is good news for small borrowers – and it represents a promising new direction for those seeking to lend to them.
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Microfinance Clients Make Their Voices Heard: New research reveals their thoughts on how they’re treated by providers
The Smart Campaign has released the results from its Client Voices project, a four-country research investigation that directly asked clients about their experiences with financial providers and their thoughts on what constitutes good and bad treatment. The project features research from Georgia, Peru, Benin and Pakistan, based on face-to-face conversations with thousands of lower-income microfinance clients.
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Necessity Breeds Lifesaving Invention – and a Hub to Launch More Innovation
Dr. Dayo Olakulehin, a young doctor in Lagos, Nigeria, fell asleep while manually ventilating a 5-year-old boy with breathing difficulties. That led him to invent D-Box, a cheap, portable, rechargeable ventilator – and then he helped develop a company to launch the device and other medical innovations in Africa.
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- Health Care, Social Enterprise
