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Optimizing Online Auctions: How Technology Can Help to Alleviate Poverty among Smallholder Farmers, One Bid at a Time
World Bank data shows that 78% of the world’s poorest people are farmers. A critical challenge they face is the lack of infrastructure to improve their market access, price transparency and competitive position in relation to more powerful downstream buyers. Yanchong Zheng at the MIT Sloan School of Management explores a digital auction platform in India that's addressing this power imbalance – and shares some ways it can be optimized for the benefit of farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship
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Seven Stages of SME Growth – One Common Problem: The Challenge of Financing Small Businesses Across Their Life Cycle
There’s an endless variety of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the world, but these businesses often experience similar problems that arise at similar stages in their growth. Barbara Peitsch, an international economic development consultant at the William Davidson Institute, discusses these stages and their associated challenges, and explores how SMEs can access financing that's appropriate for their level of development.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
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The World’s Most Ignored Startups: Why Our Innovation Ecosystems are Failing Creative Entrepreneurs
Millions of under-recognized artists, innovators and entrepreneurs are driving the steady growth of the world’s most untapped startup economy: creative businesses. As Priya Krishnamoorthy at Boston University explains, the creative economy generates US $2.25 trillion in revenue and creates nearly 30 million jobs globally, while impacting the lives of people everywhere. She explores why this sector should be on the radar of impact investors, non-profits and others in the innovation ecosystem.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Senegal’s New Start-Up Laws to Favor Women Entrepreneurs
According to the project manager at Senegal’s $50 million state fund for start-ups, Thierno Sakho, the law will unleash the talent of young entrepreneurs to have a real social impact.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Sell Benefits, Not Features: Why Social Enterprises’ Marketing Shouldn’t Focus on Their Impact
Social enterprises tend to put their positive impact at the center of their marketing efforts – after all, that's the passion behind their business. But according to storytelling strategist Menno Moffitt de Block, there's a problem with that approach: Many people may care about this impact, but few care enough to change their purchasing decisions because of it. He explains why these businesses should focus primarily on their benefits to the customer – not their social impact.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Women Entrepreneurs in India May Help Create up to 170 Million Jobs by 2030
Unlocking entrepreneurship among women in India is a complex effort, but provides an unprecedented opportunity to change the economic and social trajectory of the country and its women for generations. This will drive tremendous job creation and also deliver transformational social and personal outcomes for women, said Chawla.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- South Asia
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Meet The All-Female Angel Group Making Profitable Bets On African Entrepreneurs
While the fund is focused on building a network of female investors, Rising Tide Africa will invest in both male- and female-led companies, although they prefer and do actively search for female-led companies. If the founders are men, they have to have at least one woman in an executive position.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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‘Afro-Optimism’ on the Rise Among Continent’s Youth, Finds Survey
Ivor Ichikowitz, chairman of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which commissioned the survey, said the results “are a loud wake-up call to all the Afro-sceptics”.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
COVID-19:
Resources for the
Social Impact Sector
Resources for the
Social Impact Sector
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