-
Women Helping Women: How a Network of Female Digital Finance Agents is Boosting Empowerment in India
Digital finance has made great strides in India, but many women remain excluded – especially in rural areas. Grameen Foundation India is tackling this issue with a unique, digitally driven social enterprise model that harnesses the untapped potential of rural women, training them as field agents to extend digital finance to other women (and men) in their communities. Tanvi Gupta explores how these agents are empowering hundreds of thousands of women with access to financial services – while also generating needed income for themselves and their families.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
-
Reimagining the World’s Dirtiest Job: How Pit Vidura is Professionalizing Waste Management
Around 2.7 billion people – 35 percent of the world’s population – use on-site sanitation systems that are not connected to sewers. When they become full, they need to be emptied – a job that’s often done manually, presenting hazards to both the workers and their communities. Pit Vidura is tackling this challenge in Kigali, Rwanda, offering safe hygienic pit latrine and septic tank emptying for people in hard-to-reach areas. Katie Sottilare discusses the company’s innovative approach, and the impact it’s having.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, WASH
- Tags
- public health, waste
-
Good Food, Good Business: How African ‘Superfoods’ Can Boost Women Entrepreneurs and Their Communities
Africa has one of the largest youth populations in the world – and it's projected to double by 2055. To support this young generation of tomorrow, we need to invest in their mothers today, says Oumar Barou Togola, the founder of Farafena Health Inc. He explores how Farafena is partnering with women farmers in Mali and Malawi, helping them start micro-businesses that bring nutrient-rich African "superfoods" to North American markets.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
-
Why Aren’t More Social Enterprises Measuring Impact? A New Study in South Africa Raises Questions for the Global Sector
South Africa has arguably the most mature impact ecosystem in Africa, with both seasoned and new social enterprises, incubators, accelerators and funders. And a new study from Impact Amplifier and Genesis Analytics revealed a similarly robust impact assessment sector, with 72 percent of study participants claiming to have an impact measurement practice. But as Tanner Methvin at Impact Amplifier explains, those numbers contrast significantly with what his organization has observed on the ground. He explores that discrepancy and the broader findings in this revealing post.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
-
Adapt or Die: Accelerating Growth Amid a Rapidly Changing Energy Landscape
The clean cooking sector has made incredible strides in the past decade, with bilateral organizations and the development community working together to create standardized environmental impact goals. Now the industry is facing a new set of scaling challenges, say Jessica Alderman and Ron Bills of Envirofit International. The two share advice for enterprises seeking to level up, including how to avoid mission creep.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
-
Unpacking NextBillion’s Reader Survey: What the Responses Show – And How They’ll Shape Our Coverage
You likely noticed that NextBillion has been conducting a reader survey over the past few months. But you may not have noticed that the survey recently concluded. In the spirit of transparency – and because we find the results interesting – we’ve compiled some highlights from the 500+ responses. We also share our initial reactions to this reader feedback, and discuss how this survey data might impact new editorial directions on the site.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
-
Preparing Students to Launch: What Needs to Happen on the Ground to Get Social Enterprises Off the Ground?
Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new field that’s attracting a new type of business leader, and educational approaches to it need to be nimble and inventive. Amy Gillett, Vice President of the Education sector at the William Davidson Institute, chronicles a different type of immersive education – one that brought together more than 400 students in the U.S. and Middle East/North Africa through a “virtual exchange.” The students designed more than 70 businesses - many of which will not be virtual - to tackle real-world challenges.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology
-
Digital Inclusion by Way of Backpack: A Q&A with Imcon International CEO Rob Loud
Internet access has the potential to transform livelihoods in a myriad of ways – and financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and education are just a few of the sectors that stand to benefit. However, despite growing global internet use, billions in rural, hard-to-reach areas still lack access, representing a massive missed opportunity. In this Q&A, Imcon International CEO Rob Loud shares how his company is partnering with governments and NGOs to increase connectivity in the last mile through an affordable, simple device – the humble backpack.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.