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‘A Meeting of Minds’: World’s largest global health and social entrepreneurship conference set for April
The 11th annual Global Health & Innovation Conference at Yale University will draw more than 2,200 participants from around the world. Speakers will cover a variety of topics, including social entrepreneurship, social businesses, business in global health, design thinking, maternal and child health, and non-communicable diseases.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Social Enterprise
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Banking on Impact: Building the business case for social and environmental due diligence in lending
Conducting social and environmental due diligence can be a challenge, but Root Capital has found that its financial costs are surprisingly low, and its financial benefits surprisingly large. It has published scorecards and methodology that other financial institutions can use to partially avoid the fixed costs of developing their own due diligence tools.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing, lending
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Is Africa ‘Rising’ or ‘Falling’? : The question is not which narrative is true, but which will win?
Is Africa rising or falling? Over the last 50 years, the answer to this question has been debated and examined from every angle. Reports such as Legatum’s Insight on Africa and conferences such as the Sankalp Africa Summit attempt to provide the data, context, and insight required to understand both the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s most dynamic continent.
- Categories
- Education
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Positioning Local Banks for Success in Smallholder Finance
New research from the Initiative for Smallholder Finance reveals that approximately 290 banks in the developing world provide a total of $9 billion in local funding to smallholders – a lending rate that fails to meet 97 percent of smallholder demand for financing. To support smallholders effectively, banks must be able to lend at affordable rates, offer products specifically designed for farmers, and improve their accessibility to farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Keeping Your Impact Business Team Motivated: It starts with knowing their motivations
Keeping a team engaged and motivated in Impact Business is a point of huge importance and a challenging one for that matter. After all, the traditional financial rewards don’t apply in this space; you cannot compete with the same incentives large corporates use for their employees. So what is it going to be? Do you understand what drives each of your employees to work in your business? How can you ensure they always have access to that one thing that keeps them going and keeps them motivated?
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- Uncategorized
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New Dimensions in Health Care: 3D printers offer economy, new products and jobs
3D printers remain confined to technical universities and specialized labs in developing countries, but enthusiasts believe their time in the spotlight, particularly in the developed world, has come.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Breaking Down Development Myths: Metrics and data demolishing poverty misconceptions
As you might have seen, Bill and Melinda Gates recently released the 2014 edition of their annual Letter. This year, the theme of the correspondence was ‘Mythbusters’ – tackling the misconceptions and beliefs about development in the most powerful way possible: with data and real evidence.
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- Uncategorized
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Flushing Five Myths About the Business of Sanitation
We’re continually told a number of myths about water, sanitation and the potential for companies to reach the poor in emerging markets that face daunting infrastructure challenges. My co-authors and I debunk many of them in our book: “Tapping the Markets: Opportunities for Domestic Investments in Water and Sanitation for the Poor.”
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
