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In Brazil, a Break Through Investment Model in Affordable Housing: Harnessing a public-private solution to sustainable housing
At Bamboo Finance, we view housing as a critical component to driving economic growth, and our investment of R$7 million (US$3.6 million) in Bille, a Special Purpose Enterprise (SPE) created by Crinale, a Brazilian housing developer, for building and selling 1,200 houses in the interior of Sao Paulo State, represents a scalable solution to a massive social and economic problem.
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- housing, infrastructure
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Don’t Touch Our M-PESA!: In Mobile Money, Why Even Sacred Cows Need Scrutiny
I was giving a presentation on the potential of branchless and in particular mobile banking at an international forum, and apparently I upset the Kenyans in attendance for not having lavished enough praise on M-PESA. When I talk about mobile banking I generally use the example of M-PESA because there are few others that are really worth talking about at this point (sadly), and I mostly get “enough with that already” kind of looks. So this was new.
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BoP Career Paths: At the Root of a Baobab Tree, A New Food Company to Benefit the Poor : Bumbleroot was launched by a former TechnoServe Volunteer
Sara Andrews is a former policy advisor and strategy consultant who developed the idea for Bumbleroot while serving as a volunteer consultant for TechnoServe in Zimbabwe. A Montana native and graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she prefers to be outdoors rather than indoors.
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Why South Asia is a Hub for Social Entrepreneurship
An April 2012 study of the social entrepreneurship landscape in India found that the sector has really taken off since 2005. But while social entrepreneurs are excited to consider next steps, they clearly have a lot of learning to do—and must do a lot more to prove positive outcomes, financial and social. But, if they can, India could become a hotspot and global test ground for impact investing.
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- Education, Social Enterprise
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Waste Not, Want Not: Eco-Fuel Africa
Sanga Moses, is the founder of Eco-Fuel Moses recently applied for the WWF Switzerland Tropical Forest Challenge – a challenge that is working to identify the best for-profit solutions having a positive impact on tropical forest biodiversity in any of the 75 tropical forest-rich countries around the world.
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- Energy, Environment, Technology
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How the Arab World Can Build a Tech Sector of its Own
Unemployment in MENA is 10.3 percent, according to the International Labor Organization, the highest anywhere in the world. That rate grows to 23.8 percent for those between the ages of 15 and 25. But where should youth turn to look for meaningful jobs? Maybe the same place they turned to stage protests against their governments: online.
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- Technology, Telecommunications
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NexThought Monday: Shape Up and Scale Up: The Value of Mentors for Guiding Impact Entrepreneurs (Part 1)
A recent study by I-DEV International analyzed incubator/accelerator models and best practices across the globe and determined that mentor and peer learning are, in fact, the strongest components of existing social incubator/accelerator models. Given their importance, we wanted to get a handle on the types of mentor programs currently offered by a few of these incubator/accelerator programs.
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Weekly Roundup: What Tata Would Have Done Differently: In an Interview, Ratan Tata Says the Company Has Not Been Innovative Enough in Reaching the BoP
Ratan Tata will be stepping down as chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. As he says his goodbyes before his retirement in December, the already candid executive seems to be even more forthcoming about what his company has done right and what it has done wrong.
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