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  • André Albuquerque

    Affordable Housing Series: The Rights to the Land Under Your Home

    The migration of millions from rural areas as a result of global urbanization has created informal, and often chaotic, growth. Social business Terra Nova, based in the southern Brazilian state of Paran?, marks a new, unprecedented initiative to solve the lack of land ownership in favelas and to bring "squatter" communities into the formal economy.

    Categories
    Uncategorized
    Tags
    housing
  • Jenny Everett

    The FOUND Middle: Arogyam Organics

    As part the "FOUND Middle" series, we share this interview with Kanmani Arumugasamy of Arogyam Organics Pvt. Ltd. Based in India, Arogyam works to promote organic products and improve the quality of life of local farmers by reducing middle man costs. This video is one of many highlighting businesses and organizations making up the "missing middle."

    Categories
    Agriculture, Investing
  • Sarah Allen

    Bridging the Investor-Entrepreneur Gap

    India has developed a well-deserved reputation as a hotbed of social enterprise activity. Yet, India’s wealth of ventures face significant challenges in their efforts to build and then scale. Guidance from seasoned investors who have analyzed countless enterprises is critical, and the driving force behind the Sankalp Investor-Entrepreneur Clinics.

    Categories
    Investing, Social Enterprise
    Tags
    venture capital
  • Eric Glustrom

    NextThought Monday: Market, Government and Finding Synergies Between the Two

    It’s easy to let advocacy - the process of scaling a solution through policy change - slip into the distance and focus on the market-based approach to scale. Social change has swung toward the market-based approach to scale and largely lost sight of the other method, which involves those sometimes taboo words: institutions, lobbying, and policy.

    Categories
    Environment
    Tags
    scale
  • Heather Esper

    Weekly Roundup – 10-23-11: Using Social Media to Innovate from the Bottom Up

    Large corporations like Deloitte are learning the internal value of social media. But social media also has huge potential for ventures to fulfill a core component of BoP practice. Involving staff and BoP beneficiaries’ voices throughout the design, piloting and scaling process allows ventures to harness knowledge, spur innovation and reduce costs.

    Categories
    Technology
    Tags
    Base of the Pyramid
  • Jenny Melo

    In Guatemala, Alterna Aims to Harness Entrepreneurial Spirit

    According to the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report, Guatemala has the second highest rate of entrepreneurship worldwide. Since most enterprises develop out of necessity, there is a large gap in training and technical assistance. Launched in 2010, Alterna, an incubator and mentor to social and environmental ventures, aims to fill that gap.

    Categories
    Uncategorized
    Tags
    technical assistance
  • ViewChange

    ViewChange Film Friday: ’With My Own Two Wheels’

    For most Americans, the bicycle is a choice. It is a toy, a recreational tool, or an eco-conscious form of transportation. In 2010, 3 mountain biking buddies from Santa Barbara set off on a round-the-world journey to film the stories of individuals for whom the bicycle is not a choice, but a machine that opens new economic opportunity and purpose.

    Categories
    Uncategorized
    Tags
    Base of the Pyramid
  • Blair Miller

    Apply Now for the Acumen Fund Global Fellows Class of 2012-2013

    Our Fellows come from all walks of life, are diverse socioeconomically, hail from countries all over the world, and represent many different sectors. But what they all share in common is an unwavering commitment to creating positive and sustainable social change.

    Categories
    Education