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Weekly Roundup – 11-13-11: Technology’s Equalizing Impact
The need for inclusive health programs has been an active part of the development conversation for years. Daniella Ballou-Aares, the founder of the Global Health Practice group at the strategic consulting firm Dalberg points out, the means to do so on a large-scale has been elusive. However, technology has become the great equalizer.
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- Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Farming to Invest in the Future
Recently, we surveyed more than 150 farmers in our cotton program to better understand the impact that TechnoServe’s work has on their lives and livelihoods. I wanted numbers - and I got them - but what stuck with me were not the facts and figures, but the deeply personal stories that those facts and figures told.
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- Agriculture
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The Missing Middle; and the Growth of Social Enterprises
But behind all the feel-good energy and promises that impact investing will be a $50 billion industry by 2020, there are gaps in the story line and challenges that we must confront as a community. Rather than seeing ROI financiers, social impact advocates and foundations as adversaries, there is an opportunity to see them as allies.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing
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Housing Series: Establishing Quality Standards for Affordable Housing
Who enforces building standards? If customers are sold a home with sub-standard construction or materials - or their neighbor builds a dangerously unstable structure - what recourse do BoP citizens have? The certification prices we are developing is not a one-time "stamp of approval." Rather, it starts with pre-building and lasts over time.
- Categories
- Investing
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CSR Fail: Why It’s Time for a BoP Tech Revolution
It’s up to all of us to change the tide and think about the intersection of technology inclusion and education more critically. It’s time for corporations to stop giving away their scrap computers to the developing world and calling it CSR. It’s time for NGOs to be more judicious about the hand-outs they accept and the indirect costs endured.
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- Technology, Telecommunications
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Lessons Learned, Using Livelihoods to Combat Extreme Urban Poverty
Partners in Prosperity is the non-profit affiliate of Mimo Finance, a microfinance institution. The pilot project in Dehradun, India focused on livelihoods; training such as candle-making, small shops, and snack stands. PnP’s training and "starter kits" gave participants the jumpstart they needed without relying on government programs.
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- Uncategorized
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How to Scale Community Impact With a Market-Based Approach
"In a social business, community impact comes first," was one of the fundamental insights at the first Community Impact Development Group meeting hosted by Ashoka and the Siemens Stiftung last year. But, what do we understand by Community Impact? Why is it so critical to systems change? What are the diverse strategies that best achieve it?
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- Impact Assessment
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Engaging Peer-to-Peer Networks for Enterprise Selection: A New Pilot VC Model for the Impact Sector
Ross Baird, executive director of Village Capital (VilCap), identified one of the sector’s main problems: even though there are over 300 funds that label themselves as impact funds, fewer than five will invest in deals that are $250,000 or less. VilCap aims to radically democratize this mismatch between investors and impact enterprises.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- venture capital
