-
What Needs to Change in the Indian Medical Devices Ecosystem for Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Patients
In India, imported products account for 80% of medical device sales, and most were developed for middle and high-income countries – far from India’s unique challenges of accessibility and affordability. In recent years, thousands of startups and innovators have emerged to build more affordable public health products. But Dhruv Pandey at Social Alpha writes that government and financing challenges will stop these innovators in their tracks unless entrepreneurs can find alternate paths.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Health Care
-
High Hopes: Will ‘Cannabusiness’ Turn Around Deprived Communities?
A crop of social entrepreneurs also believe there is room for businesses to do good, as well as profit, from the plant.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
Press release: LendingClub Partners with Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle, Increasing Financial Inclusion and Small Businesses’ Access to Credit
Beginning this month, LendingClub will connect applicants looking for a small business loan on its platform to Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle. Opportunity Fund will leverage LendingClub's technology to provide an online application experience with prequalified offers to underserved small businesses before applying its established relationship-based lending model to fund and service loans. Funding Circle will apply its leading proprietary credit assessment process to fund fast and affordable loans to established, creditworthy businesses. This alliance is intended to expand efficient access to affordable credit to a broader range of small businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
- Region
- North America
-
Social Entrepreneurs Pitch For Change at Ashoka SEAChange Even
In the audience at the Ashoka Sea Change Event, more than 140 impact investors, diverse supporting organisations, and leaders in the African ecosystem together at Bowmans in Sandton, South Africa.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
-
The Other ‘Shark Tank’: A High-Stakes Effort to Find Solutions to the Global Water Crisis
You've probably seen the TV show "Shark Tank," in which small-scale entrepreneurs compete for funding from a panel of wealthy investors. The Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge for Development took a similar approach – but the stakes were far higher: The goal was to generate solutions to water shortages that already affect over 2 billion people, before population growth escalates these shortages into a perpetual global crisis. Ku McMahan, team lead for the Challenge, discusses its unique approach and surprising impact.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Environment, WASH
-
Africa’s Startup Ecosystems Are at a Major Turning Point
Back in 2015 the then-African Internet Group (now Jumia) would have been among the few African startups worth a closer look from US tech investors for an international play.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
MIT D-Lab Awards Fellowships to Six East African Social Entrepreneurs
“We are excited to work with a vibrant cohort of East African entrepreneurs whose expertise is grounded in their lived reality,” says Jona Repishti, who manages the fellowship. “Working with local founders has certain advantages — they reflect the demographics of the markets they serve; their lived experience helps them identify unique, scalable, market-based solutions overlooked by outsiders."
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
A Financial Lifeline for Tech Startups: The Value of Bridge Funds in Social Enterprise
Social entrepreneurs working in next-gen tech startups are often well-versed in the intricacies of acquiring early-stage investments. But according to Sahaj Desai, they may be less aware of another type of financing that can be equally vital to their growth: bridge funding. Desai explores the uses and advantages of this funding, and why it can be uniquely valuable to social startups.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
Subscribe to NextBillion Notes!
We're giving away a free chapter of “The Green Leap to an Inclusive Economy,” by Stuart L. Hart and Fernando Casado Cañeque, in our e-newsletter all month. Subscribe today!
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.