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Microfinance in Africa: The importance of women
MicroLoan Foundation has been making small loans, accompanied by business training, for more than ten years now - and they have only ever targeted these services to women. Mike Warmington, the organization’s Head of Operations, explains why and how they’re focusing on women in their efforts to reduce poverty at the BoP.
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MovingWorlds Founder: Why we need a Match.com for Social Entrepreneurs
Derk Norde, who co-founded the BiD Network, believes even more than funding, social entrepreneurs need professional networks. He co-founded MovingWorlds, which matches volunteer professionals (AKA: "experteers”), with organizations and social enterprises.
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- Education
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Saving Themselves: Why young people are asking for better savings services
The importance of savings to financial inclusion is well-established - at least for adults. But the conversation about youth savings is marked by skepticism about young people’s ability to save, compounded by the fact that many of them are not (or shouldn’t be) working. Rani Deshpande, director of Save the Children’s YouthSave project, discusses why youth savings must be a priority, and how the financial inclusion community can help.
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Creative Device Meets Innovative Business Model: BD, partners scaling up technology designed to reduce maternal and newborn deaths
Becton, Dickinson and Co.is partnering with the World Health Organization and Saving Lives at Birth to scale up the Odon Device – a new technology designed to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
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- Health Care
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‘Software is Eating the World’ (Including the BoP): GIZ’s upcoming sector workshop nets ICT practice, progress
GIZ is hosting practitioner workshop Nov. 6-7 in Berlin focused on practical guidance for companies on how to leverage ICT to improve their inclusive business models. It builds on the previous BoP Sector Dialogues and is particularly geared towards company representatives from the ICT, energy, pharmaceutical, agricultural, microfinance and microinsurance sectors.
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- Technology, Telecommunications
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Combining Profitability and Social Impact: Salud Fácil makes a commitment to health in Mexico’s low-income communities
In Mexico, people seeking health care in the overburdened public sector must often wait six to eight months. Salud Facil offers them low-cost financing so they can seek treatment in the private sector, where there is excess capacity.
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- Health Care
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Ethnographic Design: The best ideas come from your users
In this second post in Grameen Foundation’s series on designing products and services for the BoP, Julius Matovu reviews the use of design ethnography in early research phases to gain insights into the financial needs of the poor. He describes what to do - and what to avoid - when spending time with potential users to gain a deep understanding of their wants and needs.
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- Education
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Cost vs. Tech: Will innovation make it affordable to transact with the BoP?
NextBillion Financial Innovation’s introductory series features the views of top innovators and leaders on what’s driving financial innovation, where momentum is heading, and what obstacles remain. Today, Anurag Agrawal, CEO of Intellecap lays out the core isssues involved in bringing low-cost financial products to customers at the base of the pyramid.
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