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Coffee Economics 101 and Nestle’s $500+ Million Bet
Straight black, double espresso, or decaf soy milk latte vanilla grande? For thousands of farmers around the globe, coffee is not a question of taste (or style), but one of survival. A short introduction into coffee economics, the promises of fair-trade and organic, and the $500-plus million direct purchasing bet by the Swiss food giant Nestl?.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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NextThought (Tuesday): Meeting Customers in the Middle and Other HBR Insights
This month’s Harvard Business Review ambitiously re-calibrates the dialogue on corporate social responsibility and the true meaning of shared value in rebuilding capitalism?s sullied reputation following the financial crisis. The HBR authors also implore established companies to "take a page from startups" by treating each emerging market as new.
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Diamond Cab Picks Up Hong Kong’s Fledgling Social Entrepreneurship Scene
Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon in Hong Kong--and one venture philanthropy startup, Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk) , has been at the forefront of the movement, with several investees under its portfolio focused on the elderly and disabled. The group’s newest project, Diamond Cab , officially launches next week. "Diamond Cab is the first branded, high-quality taxi servic...
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- Agriculture
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Ebay Founder Plans to be India’s Biggest Social Investor
The philanthropic fund started by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of Ebay Inc, plans to be the biggest investor in projects targeting India’s 900 million poor, living on less than $2 a day. "The rate at which we’re investing, we will probably be the leading firm in that space at the bottom of the pyramid," said Jayant Sinha, managing director of Omidyar Network’s India operations. Ranked second on Barron’s list of the world’s 25 best philanthropists last month, the...
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- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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The (BoP) Project: Finding Sustainable Water Solutions
The Grundfos LIFELINK system is certainly no robot, but it is about as high-tech as rural water solutions can get. A single-point water supply system with a submersible pump that is powered entirely by solar panels, the water is pumped to an elevated storage tank, then led by gravity to a tap unit in a small, secure concrete housing structure.
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- Agriculture, Environment
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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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16 Tycoons Agree to Give Away Fortunes
The billionaire founder of social network Facebook Inc. has agreed to give the majority of his wealth to charity, part of a broader group of rich entrepreneurs committing to philanthropy earlier in their lives. Mark Zuckerberg has signed onto the "Giving Pledge," which asks its signatories to commit publicly to give away the majority of their wealth. The 26-year-old is one of 16 billionaires new to the p...
- Categories
- Agriculture
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In Search of Innovation: Flexible Capital
From Omidyar’s perspective, innovation in philanthropy can be amplified through a "flexible capital" approach, one that at times leaves the familiarity of grant making and enters the field of investing. This approach considers a variety of funding instruments as potential tools to address a social problem.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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