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Roundup: Of Good News and Water Pipe Dreams
In the same week that world cheered for reaching the Millenium Development Goal for drinking water, Water for People released a new report: Private Sector Provisions of Rural Water Services. The study assesses both the “prominence and potential” of market-based approaches for clean drinking water distribution.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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In Egypt, Nebny’s Blueprint for Job Skills, Community Hope
In post-revolution Egypt, one group of young Egyptians, decided to rebuild Egypt through a different sort of NGO. Their vision was to create a youth-centered community development foundation the dual goals of building a sustainable economy, while simultaneously cultivate a sense of national identity and belonging: The Nebny Foundation.
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- Education
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Reflections On Microfinance: Past, Present and Future
Microfinance institutions depended on very low default rates coupled with rapid growth to provide adequate investor returns. Aligning loan officer incentives with repayment rates and customer service may have helped microfinance institutions become more customer centric.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- microfinance
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On International Women’s Day, Highlighting Ideas and Action
On International Women’s Day, we have collected a few examples of women and their important role within the realm of social enterprise to highlight today. Two announcements particularly relevant to the NextBillion audience include the Calvert Foundation’s new campaign (with support from Citi Foundation) to advance women’s economic empowerment globally and the Women Deliver list of the top 50 ideas and solutions for improving girls and women’s lives worldwide.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing
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Big Idea: Why Hands-On Regulation of Mobile Money Could Be Dangerous
There’s a very simple imperative driving the tariff structure and every other decision that determines access to mobile money: cost recovery. This is more than a cold-hearted calculation by mobile network operators’ accountants. If rural mobile money agents, who generally operate as independent contractors, cannot profit from this role, there will be no rural agents and no mobile money service.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
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Welcoming the ‘Zeronauts’: Pushing Problems Toward Zero
John Elkington, who coined the phrase "triple bottom line," is jumpstarting a new dialogue. In an upcoming book, The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier, he details 50 enterprises and their entrepreneurial champions who are all working towards zero: zero pollution, zero poverty, zero pandemics, zero population growth and zero nuclear proliferation.
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- Energy, Environment
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Bridging the ‘Financial Capability Gap’ to Financial Inclusion
Between 500 million and 800 million of the world’s poor have gained access to finance in recent years. But 25 percent or less of these individuals have received any form of financial training to help them make informed decisions about entire financial future. This represents the ‘financial capability gap." It’s the reason why today we are releasing Bridging the Gap: The Business Case for Financial Capability.
- Categories
- Education
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NexThought Monday: Combining Commercial Opportunity With Environmental Sustainability
The greatest potential for productivity gains lies in the millions of small-scale farms in Africa, Latin America and Asia. But as the pressure grows to produce more food, unsustainable practices like slash-and-burn agriculture and excessive tilling of cropland threaten ecosystems and contribute to climate change.
- Categories
- Agriculture
