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Airbnb is Just the Beginning: The Sharing Economy Comes to Emerging Markets
The "sharing economy" is a buzzworthy new industry with platform provider revenues of $18.6 billion – a number that’s predicted to double by 2022 – and a user base that's expected to increase to 86.5 million by 2021. But what is its potential impact on emerging markets? NextBillion spoke with Airbnb's Shawn Sullivan and sharing economy expert April Rinne about how the nascent industry could impact low-income communities – including through an intriguing variation on Airbnb's home-sharing model.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, NextBillion Originals, Technology
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Why the Next Steve Jobs Could Be From Pakistan
Author and professor Elmira Bayrasli sees a big shift taking place among entrepreneurs in developing markets: They're seeking opportunities in their home countries, instead of fleeing to Western nations. In this video dialogue with WDI's Amy Gillett, Bayrasli, who wrote the book “From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places,” offers several other insights on what startup founders are really looking for and what they need to achieve it.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, NextBillion Originals
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Five Series in Social Business: Announcing NextBillion’s 2018 Editorial Calendar
In 2017, NextBillion organized our content around 12 monthly themes - in 2018, we’re taking a slightly different approach. We’ll still publish special series around topics of interest to our readers, but these series will be more tightly focused, and they'll continue throughout the year. Check out the five themes we'll be exploring alongside our broader social business coverage – and learn how you can contribute.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, NextBillion Originals, Technology
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Announcing the Most Influential NextBillion Posts of 2017
As we welcome 2018, we'd like to pay a final tribute to the top posts of 2017. In their own way, each of these insightful pieces introduced a novel concept, approach or argument that captured our readers' attention – and in some cases, provoked their ire. Here are the winners of 2017's Most Influential Post Contest.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Inclusive Fintech, Investing, NextBillion Originals
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What was the Most Influential NextBillion Post of 2017? Vote for Your Favorite
“Fast away the old year passes.” That lyric from “Deck the Halls” always hits home this time of year – and in 2017, it resonates particularly strongly. Across the social sectors, the year often felt like a race against time (or against competing societal forces) and many of our most popular posts reflect that sense of urgency. Here are the most influential posts from the last twelve months, one from each month, in our sixth annual holiday contest. Vote early, vote often.
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- Agriculture, Education, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Environment, Health Care, Impact Assessment, Inclusive Fintech, Investing, NextBillion Originals, Technology
- Tags
- agriculture, business development, development impact bonds, digital finance, digital payments, financial inclusion, fintech, impact investing, microcredit, microfinance, mobile banking, mobile finance, mobile money, NextBillion.net, research, smallholder farmers, social business, social enterprise, social impact, solar, solar energy
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New Products, New Markets – New Risks? Microfinance Shifts its Gaze to Housing
$2.3 trillion: That's what low-income households are predicted to spend on urban housing by 2025. So it's no surprise that many microfinance providers view housing lending as their next big opportunity for both profit and social impact. But this new focus brings plenty of challenges – and more than a few risks. We explore the implications of this development – a key topic of discussion at the recent European Microfinance Week.
- Categories
- Investing, NextBillion Originals
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From All-Inclusive to Socially Inclusive: Travel and Tourism’s Big Shift is Under Way
Tourism is one of the world's largest industries – but how can it best be leveraged to move nations from poverty to prosperity? That was a key question at the recent "Global Conference on Jobs & Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism," organized in Jamaica by the UN's World Tourism Organization. NextBillion was a media partner at the conference, and we share some major themes (and a few controversial remarks) ranging from the impact of the sharing economy and Airbnb, to the problems with building "five-star hotels in three-star communities."
- Categories
- NextBillion Originals, Technology
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Impact Investing at a Turning Point: Read a Free Chapter of Morgan Simon’s New Book, ‘Real Impact’
Impact investing is at a turning point, says Morgan Simon, managing director of Candide Group and founding CEO of Toniic, in her new book "Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change." It's preparing for rapid scale, but risks falling short of its ideals and transformative potential. Simon discusses eight pitfalls facing the sector in the book's third chapter – which we’re delighted to offer, for free, to readers of our e-newsletter “NextBillion Notes.”
- Categories
- Investing, NextBillion Originals
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