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Best Ideas of 2011: Green Economy and Green Growth
An economy that works better for both people and the planet - it almost sounds too good to be true. But this year, the ideas of green economy and green growth became the subject of much buzz that has the potential to turn into action starting in 2012.
- Categories
- Environment
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From the ’Last Mile’ to the ’Last Centimeter’
Calls that pharmaceutical companies should make the pills and powders available at low prices are abundant. But that’s where the challenges start - and the solutions, something examined by a soon-to-be-launched Endeva report, "Bringing Medicines to Low-income Markets."
- Categories
- Health Care
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A Corporation’s Role in Building Local Communities – A response to Acumen Fund Lesson #4
Over the past ten years, Acumen Fund has refined its approach for investing in market-based solutions to uplift the poor. In Acumen’s 10 lessons from the past decade, lesson #4 emphasizes the significance of local solutions driven by strong leadership to solve poverty in their communities. Here’s how some corporations have embodied this lesson.
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- Impact Assessment
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Dispelling the Top Five Mobile Money Myths
I like talking about how to build mobile money networks, how people use it, what additional functionality can be built on it, and how it might give people more opportunities to improve their lives. But I often find myself side-tracked into slaying mobile money myths. Here are five concerns that I wish people didn’t lock into quite so quickly.
- Categories
- Technology
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Social Innovators Collective, Shared Experiences (Without Consultants)
The Social Innovators Collective was established to address common challenges and share resources among social entrepreneurs. The NYC group is deep seeded in the belief that collective (as the name suggests) insights and efforts are more effective when united than apart. Launched nearly two years ago, the network is charting a new path for growth.
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- Impact Assessment
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Chasing Gazelles to Achieve Poverty Reduction, Development Goals
Economist David Birch coined the term "gazelle" as private businesses with annual revenue growth of 20% over four years. Such SMEs create the vast majority of new jobs and GDP growth in the U.S. and Europe, but how does this translate into opportunities in emerging markets? A recent IFC memo and forum on harnessing gazelles offers answers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing
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NextBillion is Now Available on Google Currents
Some of you, in fact nearly 2,000 of you as of this writing, have discovered that NextBillion was recently included among the first 180 content providers in the new Google Currents application. For everyone else with an Android phone or tablet, or an iPhone or iPad, we hope you join us by downloading the free Google Currents and subscribing to NB.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Jane Goodall and Affordable Housing
Can we build affordable housing for all in our lifetime? The authors in this series say YES ? but. Old patterns in the housing value chain can’t continue as government action, public policy or business as usual. A new ?housing ecosystem? is needed to catalyze breakthroughs, support cross-sector collaborations and create sustainable solutions.
- Categories
- Investing, Uncategorized
- Tags
- housing
