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Ease Off on the Accelerators: Why GALI’s Latest Study on Accelerator Programs May Be Overstating Their Impact
Early-stage social venture accelerators are growing at a rapid pace in emerging markets, and they receive widespread acclaim – driven in part by positive results from research conducted by the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI). But South Africa-based investor Nicky Khaki cautions that, while accelerators can certainly have value, their benefits to participating companies may not be as clear cut as GALI's data suggests. He explores why the studies may be exaggerating accelerators' impact – and how they could do better.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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Data That Does the Work: What Acumen Has Learned About Enterprise Feedback Loops
When it comes to the litany of obstacles keeping enterprises from growing, capital – or lack of it – tends to get the most attention. But access to data from customers, operations and staff may be a close second. The key to addressing data deserts is helping companies build a data-informed culture from the start, writes Chris Bullard, who leads post-investment and value creation strategy for Acumen. Bullard draws lessons from the impact investor’s Lean Data initiative.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Investing’s Final Frontier: Impact Measurement
In general, each type of social return calls for its own metrics to answer this basic question: Is this social impact investment/initiative having the intended effect?
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Report: Habitat for Humanity finds Housing Microfinance helps improve living conditions in Kenya
As part of the project, housing microfinance loans were offered not only to informal workers with unsteady incomes, but also to low-income salaried workers making between US$5-10 per day.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- housing, microfinance
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Big Problem, Small Solution: Can Do-It-Yourself Processing Machines Help Combat Plastic Pollution?
From the viral video of a diver swimming in a sea of plastic, to National Geographic’s major focus on the topic this year, there’s growing public attention on the problem of plastic waste. So there was plenty of excitement when a Dutch engineer’s do-it-yourself plastic recycling machines started gaining traction around the world. Could the devices empower a global army of small entrepreneurs to turn plastic waste into revenue-generating products? The solution sounds appealing, but when Bali-based social enterprise Kopernik assessed its effectiveness, they came across one small problem.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Girls Empowerment Programs Are Working: Now What?
In spite of the work of countless organizations, progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals for women and girls “remains unacceptably slow,” according to the U.N. Yet a growing body of evidence clearly shows the impact of girls empowerment programs – particularly those that bundle life skills and livelihood training with financial support. The question now is: How can these successful approaches be improved and scaled, while serving the unique needs of different cultures? Sarah Allen at BRAC USA explores some answers.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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A pointed question to Unilever’s CEO unmasked a conflict in conscious capitalism
When Unilever CEO Paul Polman and the writer Anand Giridharadascame together on Thursday (Sept. 27) for a panel discussion about “conscious capitalism,” there was bound to be some disagreement.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
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A Generational Challenge: What We’ve Learned About Addressing Youth Unemployment
Youth unemployment is a pressing issue in developed countries, but in emerging economies, the situation is even more dire. Unemployment rates of 20 percent or higher are common, with some countries reaching as high as 50 percent. Effective solutions will require an urgent, concentrated and collaborative effort, say Emily Coppel of BRAC USA and Patricia Langan of Save the Children. They outline three key lessons for addressing this challenge, previewing a Sept. 24 forum where some of the top development organizations, research institutes and donors will discuss a path forward.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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