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Bi-Weekly Checkup (3/15/13): The (un)surprising secret to good health
Nutrition is key to global health. That’s why we’re partnering with Ashoka Changemakers next week as their Nutrients for All campaign turns its attention to nutrients’ effect on health. Learn more about our upcoming coverage (and check out some of the diverse topics we’ve discussed over the past two weeks) in the Bi-Weekly Checkup.
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- Health Care
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The BoP Needs Drugs: Can the HealthStore Foundation’s model deliver?
In BoP countries, 70 to 90 percent of all childhood illness and death is caused by infectious diseases that can be treated with inexpensive drugs. But getting those drugs into the hands of patients is a daunting challenge. The HealthStore Foundation may have found a solution, through a micro-franchising model that has established a network of pharmacies and clinics in Kenya. Greg Starbird, the organization’s CEO, discusses the model and its challenges and successes.
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- Health Care
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India CSR Bill Creates Ripples in the Social Sector: Big companies would have to spend 2% of profits on CSR, but could the sector absorb it?
The Indian parliament is in the process of passing a bill mandating large companies dedicate 2 percent of their profits toward CSR activities. The big question is whether the social sector could actually absorb it.
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- Impact Assessment
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A New Wave of Crowdfunding: Connecting Social Enterprises with Investors (for Greater Social Impact)
In a growing ecosystem where for-profit social enterprises are becoming more visible and investors equally interested, a significant problem remains: How do we connect the two and streamline them in a way that is both efficient and helps accelerate social impact?
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
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What’s Next for Impact Investing Series: : 5 Things You Need to Know About Impact Investing Metrics
After the IDB joined the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the Inter-American Development Bank’s Opportunities for the Majority Initiative (OMJ), which focuses on Base of the Pyramid sustainable business models, restructured its impact measurement system across its grant and investment portfolio, putting Impact Reporting & Investment Standard (IRIS) metrics at its core.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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In a cash-only economy, innovation should empower world’s poorest with financial services: The E-Pay Innovation Award carries a $10,000 prize for the most pioneering startup
Imagine a global economy based entirely on cash. You receive your weekly pay in cash; you pay your rent in cash; you pay your monthly electric and water bills in cash; you apply for a loan and receive the money in cash; and you save cash under the mattress in case of an emergency. It seems almost unimaginable in the United States and Europe, but the fact is, of the 2.6 billion people who live on less than $2 per day, nearly 80 percent do not have access to a bank account.
- Categories
- Technology
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The Toyola Money Box: The BoP marketing tactic you wish you’d thought of
It’s just a condensed milk tin with a hole in the top – empty, collected from garbage dumps by local kids.
But slap a masking tape label on it that reads “Toyola Money Box” and you have a piece of BoP marketing genius - a tactic that helps each Toyola salesperson sell around 4,400 cook stoves in rural Ghana a year.- Categories
- Technology
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Measuring Impact – Do Non-Profits Do It Better?: Reflections on Dasra’s Philanthropy Week
The number of millionaires in India is growing, and their interest in philanthropy along with the growth of corporate foundations in India means that the social sector will receive an infusion of capital. Born from an era of private sector growth these new funders will likely bring high expectations for scale and impact to the table when assessing social initiatives. Dasra’s Philanthropy Week, is a unique forum in India to compare a number of social enterprises to the standards of these high impact philanthropists.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
