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Scale Is Overrated: Why the ‘Unicorn Industrial Complex’ is Holding Back Social Enterprise and Emerging Markets Business
Social enterprises and small and growing businesses (SGBs) are the focus of a lot of discussion and excitement in the development sector, as seen in recent SGB coverage on NextBillion and other publications. But Jack Foreman at Foresee Advisors argues that this discussion ignores the needs – and essential natures – of the vast majority of these businesses, particularly in emerging markets. He explains why the focus on scale – and investors' search for the next potential "unicorn" startup – overlook the crucial importance of SMEs that are content to remain small or medium-sized.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Solutions to the Care Crisis: How Social Enterprises and Impact Investing Can Transform the Care Economy
The care economy – i.e., paid and unpaid care provided to children, the elderly, and those with illnesses or disabilities – is central to our society’s well-being and to the broader economy. But according to analysts at IDRC, E. T. Jackson and Associates Ltd., and the Soros Economic Development Fund, COVID-19 has worsened the challenges facing these primarily female workers. They explore some innovative market-based solutions to these issues, and discuss how impact investors and other stakeholders can better support care workers, particularly in the Global South.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise, Transportation
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Why The OG Of Impact Investing Won’t Stop
When Jacqueline Novogratz started Acumen in 2001, the idea of “impact investing” was not well received by traditional financial firms. Today, Acumen has invested more than $135 million in more than 100 social enterprises worldwide and has shaped a model that’s been adopted by even the most adamant naysayers.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Africa’s COVID-19 Response: It’s All About the People on the Ground
High rates of infection are setting Africa back but young innovators across the continent are deploying a social entrepreneurship skillset to fight the pandemic from the ground up.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Avoiding the Great Divergence: How Community Investment Trusts Could Help Developing Countries Recover from COVID-19 and Achieve the SDGs
As the global economy gradually recovers from COVID-19, some fear the world is heading towards a “Great Divergence,” in which the recovery gathers momentum in richer countries while leaving developing countries behind. To avoid this outcome, emerging economies will need a surge of investment. To that end, Norman A. Bailey at The City University of New York and Alfred Watkins at the Global Solutions Summit explore why Community Investment Trusts provide an innovative model to finance pandemic recovery while building a foundation for sustainable growth.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Impact Reporting for All: Developing an Approach That Works for Both SMEs and Their Funders
In 2020, nearly $2.3 trillion was invested with the intention of generating positive social or environmental impact – but impact measurement was only used across 28% of that total amount. What is stopping the managers of the other 72% of impact capital from measuring their investments’ impact – and how can those obstacles be addressed? Kevin Horgan, Geoff Kendall and Joanna Robertson at Future-Fit Foundation explain why the difficulty of impact reporting is at the heart of this issue, and present a solution that they believe could revolutionize the impact investment landscape.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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Analysis: How Companies Can Partner With Social Enterprises in Their Value Chains
A growing number of leading companies are answering this question, in part, through partnerships with social enterprises. Social enterprises are mission-led organizations — for-profit or nonprofit — that tap market forces to explicitly create social or environmental impact.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Analysis: When Corporations and Social Enterprises Work Together, They Can Change the World
With the world reeling from the effects of COVID-19, climate change, and social inequality, and the risks of a global supply chain crisis mounting, business is feeling the pressure to set new commitments for operating in ways that respect human rights.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global