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Man on Wire: A Social Entrepreneur?s Delicate Balancing Act
Question: What do a 24-year old French performance artist and a 35-year old Indian electrical engineer have in common? Answer: Each has mastered a delicate balancing act, integral to his survival. Social entrepreneurs must purposefully navigate the path to scale keeping in mind three directions: mission, margin and mandate.
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Friday Roundup ? 9/2/11: SOCAP11 and Getting the Poor on the Grid
It’s the calm before the (exciting) storm that is SOCAP11, which begins Tuesday. This week we’ve been highlighting just a few of the many professionals and issues sure to highlight World Cup of Impact Investing. Plus, India’s massive biometric program to bring millions into the formal economy. Should the poor be forced onto the grid?
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ViewChange Video of the Week: From Kenya, the Commercial, Ecological Life of a Flip Flop
As Americans get ready for the Labor Day holiday, many are preparing to don their flip-flops for the last time before tossing them in the trash. In Kenya, much-loved "pata-patas" are repaired, reused, and recycled-but never wasted. The film follows the long life cycle of this colorful footwear, a story full of resourcefulness and enterprise.
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Social,Inclusive Businesses in Brazil, A Progress Report
What is the state of the social/inclusive business field in Brazil? A recent mapping by Plano CDE, and coordinated by AVINA Potencia Ventures and The ANDE Brasil Chapter identified 140 social/inclusive businesses throughout the country and surprising data about the characteristics, progress, and challenges that these businesses still face.
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SOCAP11 Preview: Legal Catch-Up With Social Innovation
Law is typically condemned to play catch-up with social innovation. Ask Jenny Kassan, the managing director of Katovich Law Group and founder of the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a non-profit organization that helps social entrepreneurs and mission-oriented community groups wade through laws that were not originally designed with them in mind.
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5 Things Global Development Can Learn From Stand-Up Comedy
Early in his stand-up comedy career, Steve Martin started jotting down notes after each of his performances, evaluating what worked, what to tweak and what to toss. Fast Company’s Co.Design blog posted titled ’8 things stand-up comedy teaches us about innovation.’ In the same spirit, here’s 5 things stand-up can teach us about global development.
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- Impact Assessment
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How to Reach Out to Rural India? Practitioners and Academics In Dialogue
There is no shortage of ideas, and some would even say no shortage of products, that would help the rural poor to improve their social and economic situation. But distribution remains a key challenge. At the oikos swiss Practitioner Day 2011, young scholars, local experts and practitioners from several companies discussed how to tackle the issue.
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- Agriculture, Technology
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Improving Mother, Newborn Care is Aim of Jacaranda Health
Jacaranda Health is a maternal healthcare provider in Nairobi offering low income women high quality and affordable care. Founded by Nick Pearson, formerly of Acumen Fund, Jacaranda charges modest fees for services, like $1.25 per consultation and $8 for complete prenatal lab tests, with an aim to recoup costs and expand into a chain of clinics.
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