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NextBillion Staff Updates: A Goodbye (Sort Of), a Few Hellos
I’m both happy (and a bit sad) to announce several NextBillion staff changes. First, we are bidding a fond farewell to Nilima Achwal, who has accepted Villgro Fellowship and is leaving her editor role with NextBillion. I’m also excited to announce a new editor role for Heather Esper, and to welcome Rose Reis and Devanik Saha as staff writers.
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ViewChange Video of the Week: Community Enterprise In India
The Gram Mooligal Company Limited in India is owned entirely by rural villagers who gather and cultivate medicinal plants. Its work promotes sustainable harvesting, while connecting villagers into the supply chain of larger herbal companies.
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Telefonica and Inclusive Businesses: Interview with Alberto Andreu
Many firms are dabbling in various ways in initiatives related to inclusive businesses, social entrepreneurship, and social innovations. The challenges they face range from scope, process of forming partnerships, funding, and adjustments in the organizational structure. Telef?nica is a company that has focused strategically on these topics.
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Low Maintenance, Low Cost, X-Runner Redefining the Toilet
X-Runner, a social venture based in Germany and India that has designed a low-cost mobile toilet suitable for urban slum households. The portable, low-water toilet is made of light-weight PPC material and costs $30 per unit. Included in that cost is a home service to remove the waste and deliver it to local biogas plant for eventual biogas use.
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- Health Care, Impact Assessment
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InVest in a Small Business, See Your Impact – In Real Time
InVenture, founded by former financial analyst Shivani Siroya, melds the P2P website model - one of the founding pillars of Kiva- with investing in SMEs in the developing world. You can go on the InVenture site and invest as little as $25 in an SME in the developing world and receive constant updates on your business’ progress and social impact.
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Progress and Promises: Exploring the BoP with Monitor Inclusive Markets
In May, Monitor Inclusive Markets released a report on market-based solutions in Africa across six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Profiling 440 enterprises, "Progress and Promises" represents the largest study to date of social enterprises in Africa. It grew out of a simple observation: the aid model is broken. But what’s the alternative?
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NexThought Monday: Beyond Slogans – Relevant Communications to Fight HIV
Sometimes, slogans work wonders. IBM is building a Smarter Planet - and expanding its market potential by upwards of 40 percent globally, thanks to the campaign. Just Do It stole a quarter of the U.S. sports-shoe category for Nike in its first decade. But sometimes, slogans are really, really dangerous.
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Friday Roundup – 8/5/11 – ?Everything is a Remix?
We often confuse innovation with invention. But nothing is ever original; any innovation is just remix of things that came before and reassembled. Our staff and guest writers had a lot to say about innovation this week, both in terms of conceptual thinking around creating something new and regarding concrete innovations to reduce poverty.
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