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NexThought Monday – It’s a Small World, After All?: Financial Diaries research reveals that the financial lives of low-income families in Kenya and the U.S. aren’t so different
In countries from Bangladesh, India and South Africa to Kenya and the United States, Financial Diaries studies have tracked the daily financial transactions of low-income people over time. The leaders of the Kenya Financial Diaries project compare their findings to a similar study in the U.S.
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- Education
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Weekly Roundup – Blurred Lines in Social Enterprise: All fine or time to worry?
The Kennedy School, more associated with global diplomacy and international policy than business development, says creating a social enterprise incubator will help aspiring student social entrepreneurs with academic and financial support. Another example of multiple worlds blending, is the recent announcement that CARE USA CEO Dr. Helene Gayle will be the first chief executive of the newly-formed McKinsey Social Initiative, a nonprofit consultancy.
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- Uncategorized
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Calling All Innovations in Financial Capability: A new FI2020 project needs to hear about you
The Center for Financial Inclusion is investigating innovations that help customers gain greater financial capability. If you’ve seen or been associated with any new or new use of a delivery mechanism, product design, program idea or process that might fit the bill, CFI wants to hear from you.
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- Uncategorized
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Educate Refugees or Lose a Generation: Social impact in conflict zones must be a priority for businesses as well as NGOs
Education is often among the first casualties of sustained conflict. John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson, says all businesses need to examine core competencies – whether in logistics, product design, communications or whatever their area of expertise – that can be applied or offered to refugee communities to drive educational improvement.
- Categories
- Education
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Addition By Replication: SELCO’s ‘knowledge bank’ seeking cases in scale from inside and outside the energy sector
Time and again SELCO India has encountered this question: How will it scale? This is why the solar power firm is building a knowledge bank comprised of case stories capturing methodologies, systems, processes, techniques, tactics or approaches for replication.
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- Energy
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Health workers as mobile money agents?: Digital Campus working on a business model that explores the synergies
A major barrier to mobile money uptake is the lack of a well-trained agent network to serve and address the financial needs of the community, with the greatest effects felt in remote areas. One way to address this challenge is to explore synergies between community health workers and mobile money agents.
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- Education, Health Care
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The Power of Social Underwriting: Kiva Zip, on why it pays for lenders to tap the wisdom of the crowd
Social underwriting, ie: assessing borrowers’ creditworthiness by tapping into their existing trust networks, is a time-honored principle in community banking. And it’s increasingly being combined with digital tools to expand access to capital for borrowers that conventional lenders might reject as too risky or unprofitable. Kiva Zip’s senior director describes four ways they are implementing the approach.
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- Uncategorized
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Specialist Eye Care, Anywhere: Vula Mobile app enables rural health workers to conduct eye tests, consultations
The Vula app was developed when Dr. William Mapham, an ophthalmologist working in rural Swaziland, noted that poor communication between hospitals and outlying clinics meant that patients were often not referred to the eye clinic when they should have been.
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- Health Care, Technology










