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Building an Angel Investment Network in Pakistan: Launching I2i Angels
At Invest2Innovate, or i2i, we encounter these issues on a daily basis. We are an intermediary organization that supports seed-stage social enterprises in new and untapped markets, beginning in Pakistan. In order to better address the disconnects evident in this sector, we just launched i2i Angels, a community of angel investors committed to investing and supporting innovative and high-growth enterprises in Pakistan.
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- Uncategorized
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Remote Control: Three Innovative Solutions to Healthcare Distribution in Rural Areas
To ensure health products retain their quality means the entire supply chain – from storage conditions to distribution channels – must be considered. But distribution costs of health products and their associated service provisions in particular are one component of healthcare supply chains that’s often under-considered and therefore ineffectively budgeted. However, this is a new area of focus for many social enterprises that are looking to bridge the logistical gap.
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- Health Care
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On the Upswing: ANDE’s 2011 Impact Report
According to the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, over the past three years, fundraising targets for funds focused on small and growing businesses increased by 71 percent, reaching $3.73 billion in 2011. During this same time, 102 SGB funds completed fundraising efforts and began making investments.
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- Investing
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- scale
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Bottoms Up: A Thought Experiment on Designing for Social Impact
I have been a participant in several student-led communities lately that demonstrated some of the social principles of biomomicry: The Social Enterprise Boot Camp (a collaboration between Columbia, NYU and SVA Design for Social Innovation), GES (Global Engagement Summit at Northwestern) and the NYC Creative Interns. While they still may not have cracked the code for how we will evolve to become a sustainable species, they provide enough hope to keep us all working at it.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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Doing Business In Post-Conflict Zones: Why SMEs Are Key
Given all the benefits of private sector investment in postconflict zones, entrepreneurship is emerging as part of the next generation of solutions for many development issues. However, too often investments—particularly from aid organizations—create dependency and are unable to sustain long-term economic growth. Building local business capacity and supporting homegrown entrepreneurs can help curb this risk.
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- Uncategorized
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- governance
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NexThought Monday: Approach with Caution – Why Buffett, Gates, and the Giving Pledge Members Should Be Wary of Impact Investing
Many billionaires have signed on to the Giving Pledge, a pact pushed by software tycoon Bill Gates and value investor Warren Buffett for the super-rich to donate much of their wealth. Many are now turning their attention to impact investing. But large, individual investors have at least three reasons to approach the phenomenon of impact investing with caution.
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- Uncategorized
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The Energy Access Crunch: Exploring Public-Private Solutions for Getting Power to the People
The lack of energy access is a drag on human development around the world, and it will take an increase in funding as well as the public and private sectors working together to solve this problem. That was one of the conclusions at the workshop, “Fairness and Transparency in Climate Funding: Taking into account the Needs of the Poorest Populations” on May 11 in Bangkok.
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- Energy
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Lighting a Pathway for Solar in Rural Uganda
Mercy Corps didn’t give out a single solar lantern. It didn’t give out any grants to buy solar panels. But, what the international nonprofit did do was bring solar to rural Uganda.How? Market facilitation. It’s a mouthful, but it’s kind of like matchmaking, and it’s a key role nonprofits can play to boost local economies.
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- Energy
- Tags
- solar, supply chains
