-
So You Want to Start a Social Enterprise? 10 Legal Questions Founders Should Ask Themselves and Their Partners First
As a corporate lawyer working at the intersection of start-up space and social enterprise sectors, I often find myself assisting co-founders in structuring relationships. The conversations are inherently complex; so here 10 questions I would advise founders and partners ask one another before launching a social enterprise.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
A Wish for Sharing: Why Social Entrepreneurs Don’t Need A Bottled Genie to Gain
More often than not, entrepreneurs who share the same mission – ending energy poverty, hesitate to share resources, even if we all benefit. What are we afraid of? Is it the fear that all our hard work simply paved the way for someone else to get credit for lifting a billion villagers out of energy poverty? Or maybe it’s the bucks we were planning to make while perusing our lofty goal?
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
-
NextThought Monday: From Job-Takers to Changemakers – Nurturing Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation in Higher Ed
A few weeks ago, the Ashoka U Exchange conference brought together 500 students, faculty, and staff as well as social entrepreneurs to connect and nurture collaboration for instilling a culture of entrepreneurship and social innovation in higher education. Ashoka U identifies and selects pioneer campuses and supports establishing campus change teams.
- Categories
- Education
-
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
-
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.
- Categories
- Education
-
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
-
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
-
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
