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Inclusive Business Has Buy-in, Now We Need Action
The Inclusive Business concept has been adopted by the United Nations, the International Business Leaders Forum, and other major organizations. Convincing multinational corporations was a critical step in validating and positioning market-based solutions as profitable ways to create wealth and prosperity. But how will we really achieve scale?
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- Education
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Targeting the Ultra Poor: The Sustainable Agriculture Puzzle in India?s Most-Destitute State
Continuing our series showcasing the challenges faced by the "ultra poor," and new approaches that differ from traditional poverty alleviation interventions - this post examines the Network for Enterprise Enhancement and Development Support, a nonprofit that works in one of India’s poorest and most natural resource-rich states, Jharkhand.
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- Agriculture
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How to Save Microfinance from the Indian Government
Microfinance is on the brink of collapse in Andhra Pradesh and across India, but the market for banking to the ultra poor will not disappear. Therefore, the time is ripe for a discussion about the core competency of microfinance and what institutions will fill this void in the coming years, be they for profit or not.
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- Uncategorized
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iuMAP: Milaap Bridges the Gap for Microfranchisors
Capital investment is expensive and involves risk; if the already vulnerable entrepreneur fails to sell her inventory, she’s stuck with the liability. Inspired by his work with the business development team of SKS Microfinance, Anoj Viswanathan founded Milaap, a crowd-funded, low-cost, risk-tolerant capital model focused on microfranchises.
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- Uncategorized
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Innovations and Challenges in Carbon Finance
Several clean tech projects serving the poor are, in part, financed by the creation and sale of carbon offsets. Carbon finance improves the product’s value proposition by providing additional revenue streams to make them financially viable and available at a lower price point for end-users.
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- Energy, Environment
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- solar
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A LIVE Chat with Ted London and YOU
What better occasion for our first live conversation than the release of a new book that aims to change the conversation about doing business with the BoP? Please join us at 12 PM EST on Thursday, December 16, 2010, for a Webchat with Ted London, co-editor of the book Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid.
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- Investing
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Re-thinking Accessibility: Designing a Car for Africa
Mobius Motors, an African car company in its infancy, is developing the first car targeting African buyers. But how exactly does one build a car company from scratch in one of the most notoriously difficult markets? For Mobius Founder Joel Jackson, it starts by re-imagining the car as a more "relevant," device - built around the needs of its users.
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- Transportation
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Via Acumen Blog: Can We Believe the Hype about Impact Investing?
The following post is by John Simon, author of the new report from the Center for Global Development: More than Money: Impact Investing for Development. The report is being released today, and the Center for Global Development will hold a live webcast of the launch event from 4-5:30 PM EDT. We’d welcome your reactions on the event and report.
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- Uncategorized
