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Energy Series: An Introduction
An unidentified Shell employee famously said, ?The Stone Age didn?t end because we ran out of stones,? illustrating the revolutionary implications of design and creativity. While he was hinting to oil?s fallibility with the advent of alternative energy sources, base of the pyramid (BoP) energy markets will also undergo a makeover.
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Climate Change Opportunities and Threats in Microfinance (Part 2 of 2)
By 2100, 145 to 220 million people may fall below the $2-a-day poverty line due to climate change. This will have a negative impact on microfinance institutions. In this second part of a two part series I elaborate on how these organizations can modify their products to encourage borrowers to adapt to the negative effects of climate change.
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Report from the Mobile Money Summit (Part 3) – Learning from Agent Networks
At the GSMA’s Mobile Money Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the end of May I got a snapshot of this fast-evolving industry. Both inspiring and relevant far beyond the mobile industry is the rapid creation of networks of thousands of network agents bringing these services to remote and marginalized communities.
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“Less Beer; More Books” and A Few Other Ideas for the Weekend
On beer, schools, giving, being unreasonable, translations... Here are some interesting pieces that crossed my desk and caught my eye this week. Pick some up, put them in your bag and add them to your weekend leisure reading list.
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Metrics from the Ground Up
I had the opportunity to attend the ANDE Metrics & Evaluation Conference: Metrics from the Ground Up this past week in DC with over 120 others. As an attendee of the last year year’s inaugural event, I was excited to see the progress of the metrics field over the past year, and interested to see if the conversation had shifted at all.
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Report from the Mobile Money Summit (Part 2) – Product Innovation to Reach the Poor
At the GSMA’s Mobile Money Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the end of May I got a snapshot of this fast-evolving industry. Beyond the creation of new mobile money platforms, the next step is creating products that are relevant to the poor, and for service providers to the poor to get on those platforms as well.
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Small Premiums, Long Term Benefits: Why Poor Women Need Microinsurance
Monica Kirunguru’s story shows the benefits microinsurance can have on the lives of low income women, who are often subject to unexpected shocks in their lives. This post explores innovations in the field of women-targeted microinsurance products.
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MIT Launches Global Innovation Challenge Targeting BoP
How many great ideas does it take to make a positive impact on a community? Surprisingly, the answer can be just one. That said, a single great idea often requires the efforts of dozens or more people to bring it into reality. Identifying and leveraging the right resources are key to realizing great ideas anywhere, and no less in emerging markets.
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