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Case Study : ‘Digging in’ or ‘building out’ to benefit farmers and buyers in outgrower schemes?
What can we learn from growing tobacco? Although TechnoServe does not work with the crop, nor do we intend to, it turns out there’s a lot we can glean from the successes of tobacco outgrower schemes.
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- Agriculture
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Applications Abound: Three things you should know about broadband for the BoP
The Broadband Effect: Enhancing Market-based Solutions for the Base of the Pyramid, a new study by Opportunities for the Majority at the Inter-American Development Bank and prepared by Hystra, makes the case for broadband adoption and more efficient and productive value chains serving the BoP. The report presents several case studies showing how broadband has enabled new business models that are more effective and efficient in accessing the BoP.
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- Education, Technology
- Tags
- research
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NextBillion’s Most-Viewed, Most-Shared Posts for August: Investable supply chains, ATMS for all in India and angels in the UK
Investments in more ethical supply chains, India’s big ATM for all push (and the push back), and what it means to be an impact angel investor – these were among our popular and most shared posts for August.
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- Uncategorized
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Unlocking the Unbanked: How cyber ID data can advance financial inclusion and ecommerce in emerging markets
Our financial systems rely on digital information footprints – credit data, banking histories, etc. – to determine whether a person is trustworthy. But many poor people live in a cash economy with no digital record of their financial history, preventing them from transacting with many companies. According to Stephen Ullford, cyber ID data offers one way to bridge this cash-digital divide and expand financial access to the unbanked.
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- Uncategorized
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High Impact Philanthropy Demands Investing, Not Spending: India’s CSR Act is an opportunity for reframing
India’s new Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) Act will make an additional 15,000 to 20,000 crores (US $2.4 to $3.2 billion) available to the development sector. As great as the need is India, Satyam Darmora, with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, I believes the opportunity is even larger — if it is maximized.
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- Uncategorized
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Responsible Pricing, Profits and Self-Regulation in Microfinance: Views from the Smart Campaign
The Smart Campaign offers certification to microfinance institutions that uphold its client protection principles. In the process, it has sparked debate on topics like responsible pricing, appropriate profits and the value of self-regulation. In response to recent criticisms of its certification process, Campaign director Isabelle Barrès lays out its perspective on these three issues.
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- Uncategorized
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Customers as Partners: Medical device startup believes inclusive design process builds in loyalty, gives it a competitive advantage
Sisu Global Health, a for-profit medical technology company, is seeking to take advantage of growth trends in Africa by offering devices specifically tailored toward hospitals and clinics there. The company brings in customers as partners of the designs – even at the sacrifice of some short-term profit.
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- Environment, Health Care
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- product design
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NexThought Monday – Solving the Energy Access Problem: In-house distribution + in-house product design
Patrick Walsh founded Greenlight Planet to offer rural, low-income families a clean, affordable, and safe alternative to traditional kerosene lamps. But he and his team quickly discovered that producing a great product got them only halfway home. Walsh says bringing Greenlight’s distribution chain in house, along with its product design, has made all the difference for the for-profit firm.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- distribution, solar, supply chains
