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NexThought Monday: An Economy of Kindness
There is still another economy to be found in the world of social enterprise - an economy of scarcity. It is evolving as it matures as well. In the beginning of the explosion of mission-driven organizations, many people expected help would be given for free. It was noble to donate one’s time to people who were working to "save the world". And so many of us did. Until every second person we knew decided to save the world.
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- Social Enterprise
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Now In Its ‘Junior’ Year, Unreasonable Institute is Open for Business as Unusual
When American high school students enter their junior year (their third of four years of high school) they face tests that will determine which colleges they may (or may not) attend. Those in sports are expected to compete and perform at the varsity level. They move from underclassmen to upperclassmen. In short, the stakes are upped.
For the Unreasonable Institute the stakes are upped as well. This could, and by all means should, be an inflection year.- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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The NEXT NextBillion …
Just a quick note to all NextBillion readers:
We are moving to a new site design/platform and are going through the proverbial Beta testing. Please bear with us while we work the kinks out over the next few days and bring new systems online.
Thanks in advance for your patience - and apart from a few bugs here and there, we hope you like the new site.- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Social Entrepreneurship in Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities
High rates of youth unemployment across the Middle East and North Africa were a major catalyst for the Arab Spring revolutions. To help address this, the Development Marketplace is preparing for a country-level competition in Egypt early next year. The proposed DM competition will focus on social entrepreneurs with projects that have a strong impact on creating sustainable job opportunities, especially in the agricultural supply chain sector.
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- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Decentralized, Distributed and Disruptive: The New Diseconomies of Scale
Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, economies of scale have ruled the day, with massive investments in power plants, pipelines, factories, and transmission lines to name a few. But increasingly, the technologies of tomorrow will be decentralized, distributed in character and disruptive to incumbent firms and institutions.
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- Environment, Technology
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Mobile Money Payments: Why It’s Time to Move From P2P to Me2Me
Many cite the high cost of electronic transfers as a key market barrier to leveraging mobile money platforms and enabling retail payments or other financial services to the poor. But recently, two leading mobile money providers in Kenya and Tanzania lowered their prices for small-value transfers.
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- Uncategorized
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Mobile Money Payments: Why It’s Time to Move From P2P to Me2Me
Mobile money providers should embrace Me2Me systems, that is, easy-to-use commitment savings platforms that help map how people think about their long-term needs and money. In the customer’s mind, each date would be associated with a purpose, such as paying off school fees, rent, farm equipment or other long-term purchases and expenses.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
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Beer at the BoP
In Africa, SABMiller’s biggest competitor is the guy (or gal) who makes beer at home. That’s a big reason why the company, which had revenues of $28 billion last year, recently began selling Impala, a beer made from cassava, in Mozambique. Using local like cassava and sorghum crops appeals to local tastes, supports local farmers and keeps costs down so SAB Miller can price its beer lower to compete with homemade brews.
- Categories
- Agriculture
