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Best Ideas of 2011: Green Economy and Green Growth
An economy that works better for both people and the planet - it almost sounds too good to be true. But this year, the ideas of green economy and green growth became the subject of much buzz that has the potential to turn into action starting in 2012.
- Categories
- Environment
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Guest Post: Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund’s Competitions Focusing on Agribusiness, Climate Change
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, which invests in businesses seeking commercially viable and high development impact projects in Africa, has launched three new competitions. Two will focus on agribusiness development in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Sudan, and renewable energy to help small farmers in East Africa to adapt to climate change.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Tags
- venture capital
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Housing Series: Sustainable Communities Generating Sustainable Habitats
We began Echale a Tu Casa over 25 years ago as a nonprofit to help low-income Mexican families improve home safety, health and hygiene conditions. Realizing that philanthropy would not permit us to have much of an impact on these living conditions, we created a social enterprise built on an integrated system of savings, credit and subsidies.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, WASH
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Seven Billion: The Real Population Scare Is Not What You Think
The Earth’s resources that underpin our modern lifestyles are deteriorating. This is not to suggest that hard-earned middle class lifestyles must be curbed or that Africans and Asians should be denied the chance to own laptops and iPods. Far from it. Rather, as the middle class grows, business needs to find ways to shrink natural resource use.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
- Tags
- nutrition
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At the Tipping Point: How Can Global Financiers Create a Sustainable World Economy?
Last week’s UNEP FI conference, ?The Tipping Point: Sustained Stability in the Next Economy? considered the emerging role of sustainable finance in reforming the financial sector for the long term. As we reach a different tipping point, the 7 billionth person on Earth, it’s just the sort open and strategic conversation we need.
- Categories
- Environment
- Tags
- impact investing
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NextThought Monday: Market, Government and Finding Synergies Between the Two
It’s easy to let advocacy - the process of scaling a solution through policy change - slip into the distance and focus on the market-based approach to scale. Social change has swung toward the market-based approach to scale and largely lost sight of the other method, which involves those sometimes taboo words: institutions, lobbying, and policy.
- Categories
- Environment
- Tags
- scale
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Proteak’s IPO Journey, Part II: Lessons Learned
In part one of my interview with Proteak Founder Hector Bonilla, he explained why the Mexico-based sustainable timber company decided to go public. In the part two he shares how the initial public offering changed the company for the long-term, and shares advice for social entrepreneurs and their investors seeking a successful financial exit.
- Categories
- Environment
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On the Quest for Exits: Proteak’s Successful IPO
In the impact investing sector, conversations about the need for financial exits abound, but there are scant few cases. Proteak, a Mexico renewable tropical forestry company that sells conflict-free plantation teak wood products, is one sterling example. In a two-part interview, Proteak Founder Hector Bonilla walks us through the firm’s 2010 IPO.
- Categories
- Education, Environment
- Tags
- impact investing