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ViewChange Video of the Week: Living Proof, Ethiopia ? The Barbershop
In recognition of World Health Day, our video partner, ViewChange, is focusing on global health. It presents a story of one Ethiopian woman, who, after testing positive for HIV, refuses to give up. Instead, she takes out a small loan to start a business and support her family, while also vowing to educate her community about HIV.
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- Health Care, Impact Assessment
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Distinguishing Microcredit From Microfinance
The term ?microfinance? is used interchangeably with the term ?microcredit?. But just as Kleenex is only one of many brands of tissues, microcredit is only one piece of the microfinance puzzle. Women’s World Banking CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian discusses the path toward broader financial inclusion, economic empowerment and rights.
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Environmental Entrepreneurs: Mexico’s ‘Échale a Tu Casa’ Builds Green Houses
Mexico needs 9 million new homes in the next 20 years to keep up with demographic demand. Yet construction of millions of houses could have significant negative environmental impact. ?chale lowers the environmental impacts of its homes by including features like rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient stoves and composting; all at a low price.
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- Education, Environment
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Disruptive Innovation In Service of Social Business Growth (Part 2)
In my previous article, I aligned and demystified the concept of disruptive innovation and its lessons. This second article goes deeper by exploring two examples - KickStart, an irrigation pump maker; and Asembis, which manages a network of low-cost urban clinics in Costa Rica - both of which offer some practical lessons for market diffusion.
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Unleash Social Impact: Ashoka’s Globalizer and Skoll World Forum
Felix Oldenburg is challenging the mainstream dialogue on social enterprise. I had an insightful conversation with Felix, Ashoka’s Europe and Germany director, and a speaker at the Skoll World Forum. He, along with Konstanze Frischen and Maria Zapata, organized Ashoka’s first-annual Globalizer program that accelerated Ashoka Fellow enterprises.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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In Seattle, Linking Supply Chains to Reach the Bottom Billions
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Bottom Billons Bottom Line conference, hosted by Seattle Pacific University. The conference explored the role of business in ending global poverty through an examination of a broad range of topics, including social enterprises, corporate global supply chains and microfinance.
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This Friday, Join a Discussion on the State of Microfinance
The Microfinance industry has seen unprecedented challenges, and a mix of success and failure during the last decade. The Microlumbia Fund, founded by Columbia Business School students, will host The Fourth Annual MicroFinance Conference, at Columbia University to discuss the current state of the industry.
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- Uncategorized
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Overcoming Gender Bias In Mobile Money
In the first of several Q&As with NextBillion, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women?s World Banking, discussed a range of financial, technical and cultural challenges facing women pursuing financial and entrepreneurial goals. This conversation focuses on the largely hidden issue of gender bias blocking access to mobile money.
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