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Let’s Talk: IDB Inaugural BoP Forum Highlights SME Growth, Network Connections
The 1st IDB Forum for the Development of the Base of the Pyramid in Latin America and the Caribbean kicked off Monday in Sao Paulo, Brazil by emphasizing the critical role of SME creation and growth. To highlight the increasing importance of the sector, the IDB announced plans to double investments in BoP-related businesses in 2012 to $100 million.
- Categories
- Education
- Tags
- academia
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The BoP Project: Focusing on Quality, Not Quantity, in Rwanda Coffee
Over the past ten years, a unique program has been brewing in the Rwandan coffee industry, relying on the international demand for high-quality, specialty coffee (not always "fair trade" certified), and helping increase the income of small coffee farmers in this rapidly growing country.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Visiting Akilah: A Girls? Education Success Story and More
If social sector nerds like me were deflated to learn that some of Greg Mortenson?s schools don?t actually exist, they should be elated to find that not only is Akilah succeeding as a college, it is also setting new standards of excellence in education in Rwanda.
- Categories
- Education
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Friday Roundup 6/24/11: Pivot25 and East Africa’s “Venturesome” Consumers
I’m in Kenya at the moment, a place where you’ll find plenty of "venturesome consumers". M-PESA is to Kenyans what Dropbox is to Americans. Last week saw the first Pivot25, an app developer conference and competition that showcased solutions for many of the challenges faced by Kenyans and East Africans.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Recap from ANDE Metrics from the Ground Up Conference
The future of metrics is unfolding at ANDE. As an attendee of their third metrics conference, I can say it has been fascinating to observe how the metrics conversation has changed and the progress that has been made. Read on for a recap of some of these exciting developments and a look towards new work that is underway.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Walking in the Customers’ Shoes: Next Generation of BoP Marketing
eyond traditional research, ethnography implores us to get our hands dirty with first-hand observation and daily participation in the lives of our consumers. And while often thought to be the terrain of anthropologists studying far-off cultures, ethnography is increasingly taking center stage in seemingly unlikely places.
- Categories
- Education
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Agora’s Impact Investor Conference: Accelerating the Central American Deal Flow
Agora Partnerships is taking investment-readiness preparation to a new level. In July, they will host the first Impact Investor Conference in Granada, featuring nine early stage enterprises that went through a competitive selection process to reach the Agora Accelerator Program.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
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Telenor’s Easypaisa Penetrating Pakistan’s Poor, Unbanked Populations
Since Pakistan mobile operator Telenor launched Easypaisa in October 2009, it’s seen rapid adoption. In March 2011, 1.3 million customers processed 1.9 million Easypaisa transactions and $39.2 million in transaction flows. Easypaisa has conducted more transactions in its first 18 months than any mobile money deployment except M-PESA.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Technology
