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Friday Roundup ? 9/30/11: The IFC’s 7 Business Models for Inclusion, Are There More?
The International Finance Corporation took a close look at its investment portfolio and found seven common traits of successful inclusive businesses. In its recently released report, Accelerating Inclusive Business Opportunities, the IFC highlights those models - from micro distributions to smallholder procurement. Did the IFC miss any?
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- Uncategorized
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On the Quest for Exits: Proteak’s Successful IPO
In the impact investing sector, conversations about the need for financial exits abound, but there are scant few cases. Proteak, a Mexico renewable tropical forestry company that sells conflict-free plantation teak wood products, is one sterling example. In a two-part interview, Proteak Founder Hector Bonilla walks us through the firm’s 2010 IPO.
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- Education, Environment
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- impact investing
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Calling Africa’s Social Entrepreneurs
Africa may seem to be a bit lost on the inclusive-market-social-entrepreneurship-map. Most big MFI funds have only small portfolios in the area, and the BIG success stories cited are often from India. But there’s a LOT going on. A team from Queen’s University has set out to find out how much, what, and where - and will make their insights public.
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- Social Enterprise
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Where’s the Bank? Proximity is Critical, So Why Aren’t Academics Writing About It?
Most academic papers on access to finance focus on behavioral economics and product design issues, but skip proximity and cost of access. Yet if there is one common element in all successful microfinance schemes it’s been finding ways to get closer to customers. An argument for learning how the nuances of distance influences market behavior.
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- Education
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In New India Map, Ayllu Identifies 9 Constraints, Innovations to Reaching Scale
Just launched at SOCAP 11, Ayllu is unveiling a new India Map that - through the perspective of entrepreneurs - examines key scaling challenges and innovations for social ventures in the region. Sponsored by Potencia Ventures, the map identified 9 major scaling constraints as well as innovations, which are illustrated by hundreds of case examples.
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- Education
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- impact investing, research
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Reinventing the Mobile Market in Mexico
Without a credit card, bank account, or official employment history, mobile providers are unwilling to take the gamble on providing a post-paid monthly plan option to Mexico’s poor. It sounds a lot like what many poor people encounter when attempting to obtain a loan. It’s in this environment where the founders of Finestrella saw an opportunity.
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- Technology
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Microfinance at a Crossroads: BRAC USA’s Davis on Microcredit, Then and Now
At a time of over-indebted clients, and fear in the face of microfinance exploiters and "loan sharks," Susan Davis, founding CEO of BRAC USA and industry veteran, is adamant: "If your mission is only to offer consumer finance, I wouldn’t call it microfinance. If your core mission is to try and defeat poverty ... then we’re talking."
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- Uncategorized
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Taking Stock of IRIS
There is no EBITDA equivalent for social impact. The Global Impact Investing Network’s Impact Reporting and Investment Standards is one solution, but there are still questions. One potential breakthrough case study examining the framework in action will try to answer those questions at the 2011 Social Enterprise Conference at Columbia University.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
