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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.
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- Social Enterprise, Technology
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Key Strategies for ‘Social Startup Success’: A Q&A with Spark Co-founder Kathleen Kelly Janus
The nonprofit funding wall is real, says Kathleen Kelly Janus, leaving two-thirds of U.S. nonprofits at $500,000 and below in revenue. In “Social Startup Success: How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up and Make a Difference,” she explores how some social ventures are able to break through and scale, and shares lessons that are relevant to both nonprofit and for-profit enterprises. NextBillion editor Sonya Vann DeLoach discusses the book’s message with the author in this thought-provoking Q&A.
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- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- nonprofits
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Seeing Beyond Silos: A More Holistic Approach to Supporting Social Entrepreneurs
If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes an entire ecosystem to shepherd a social enterprise from inception to scale. But that ecosystem too often is splintered with investors, accelerators and other advisors sorting themselves into silos. Alex Pan and Mark Correnti, with the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, advocate for a "structured collaboration," with accelerators taking the lead as honest brokers.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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The Danger of Subsidized Solar: How Government and Donors Unwittingly Hobbled Our Business
After entering Myanmar as the country's first pay-as-you go solar power provider in 2015, Brighterlite recently ceased operations there, losing the nearly US $2 million invested in the startup. Jørund Buen, co-founder of the firm that owns Brighterlite, explains what went wrong – and the role that government and donors played in the failure.
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- Energy, Social Enterprise
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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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A Milestone in Innovative Finance: Exploring the First-Ever Outcome-Based DIB for Poverty Alleviation in Africa
The graduation approach to poverty alleviation has been effective in helping raise incomes and savings over the long term. But traditional funding models don't provide enough flexibility or performance incentives to boost this impact, since funding is typically tied to activities rather than outcomes. To address this challenge, Village Enterprise and Instiglio have partnered with USAID and DFID to launch the first-ever outcome-based development impact bond for poverty alleviation in Africa.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise
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There’s No App to Fix Farming – A Lifelong Smallholder Shares What Social Business is Getting Wrong
When it comes to farming, the social business world is getting it all wrong, says Gaita Kariuki, a lifelong smallholder and CEO of Selina Wamucii, a Kenya-based fresh produce startup. From overselling the impact of off-grid solar and access to loans, to underestimating the importance of middlemen, he says much of the social business sector's approach to agriculture makes little sense to smallholders.
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- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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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, Social Enterprise