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SOCAP11: Breaking Down Barriers to People Powered Capital
"Why is it illegal for me to invest even $100 in the business of my choice?" The kick-off session on the democratization of impact investing tackled the tough questions, such as how can we channel the massive amount of capital latent in the 98 percent of people may want to invest in a venture, but who are not "accredited investors."
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- Investing
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SOCAP11: Gleaning Insights in Design Thinking
Design used to be about making artifacts, but now the experience is the commodity. At SOCAP11, the Design for Social Innovation track exposed us to some powerful design thinking techniques from Hot Studio and :: CRONAN ::, two firms with household name corporate and socially known clients. In design, the age of the lone rock star is long gone.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- product design
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Reused Paint, Gold for Good ? Colombian Environmental Entrepreneurs at ’Growing SMEs’
With improved internal security, an improved business environment, and increased prominence as a major player in the global economy, Colombia’s business landscape is also changing. From recycled paint to sustainable gold production, several SMEs building social improvement will Growing SMEs Investment Roundtable on Sept. 23.
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- Uncategorized
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SOCAP11: Village Capital and the Value of peer-based Evaluation
What if microfinance and angel investing had a baby? Essentially, Village Capital is that offspring, using a peer-to-peer evaluation, learning and investment model where fellow entrepreneurs in the program decide who gets the allocated funding. From SOCAP11’s "People Powered Capital" we heard from several ventures using the Village Capital process.
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- Impact Assessment
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Via ViewChange: 9/11 Widows, Rebuilding Hope Afghani Women
"Have you ever worn a burqa before?" asked the Amnesty International representative. I put the tent-like garment over my head, imagining being forced to wear it. It was in that moment, in July 2001, when I experienced how it felt to be invisible. That’s when I knew I wanted to produce a film about Afghan women.
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- Uncategorized
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Why Should a Mainstream For-Profit Company Pursue an In-Kind BoP Partnership?
Many entrepreneurs and funders at SOCAP11 are skeptical about partnerships - and rightly so. But sometimes all the work to make partnerships click pays off. In the case of an ongoing partnership between UNICEF and for-profit Frog Design, the impact results in Malawi and Zambia include a 30% increase in early diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in children.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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SOCAP11: Spirituality and Social Enterprise
A thoughtful panel of leaders at SOCAP11 opened the dialogue on a powerful underlying motivator for many in social enterprise, but a motivator that is often swept under the rug, unspoken, taboo, or even a white elephant in the room: spirituality. Amid the talk of ROI, balance sheets and capital, what should be the role of spiritually in the space?
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- Uncategorized
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Three Lessons for Creating Real, Scalable Impact
The Mulago Foundation maintains a striking level of focus on real impact. They are not alone in addressing market and government failures with grants and low-interest loans. But their singular focus on measuring real impact that overcomes those failures in the geographies where those failures are the hardest to solve sets them apart.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
