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Social Business Roundup: The Problem with Sachets, the Beauty of Rats and the Dark Side of Cross-Selling
Everyone seems to love the products in individually-sized sachets being sold at the BoP ... except for Mother Nature. Ethiopia's only too happy to roll out the welcome mat for some rats with amazing TB-sniffing skills. A questionable cross-selling strategy in South Africa harms a vulnerable population and raises uncomfortable questions about financial inclusion. It's all part of our weekly Social Business Roundup.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Engineering Social Impact: Being a Hardware Entrepreneur is Hard … But Worth It
There's nothing fast or easy about hardware innovation. Hardware is, well, hard. But a growing number of stakeholders in the development space see the importance of hardware-led social ventures and the impact they make in emerging markets, and they'll be especially interested in ASME's upcoming Innovation Showcase, a competition with events in in India, Kenya and the United States.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
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How Water.org ‘Took a Leap of Faith’ into Social Impact Investing
As we recognize World Water Day, Water.org is launching a $50 million fund, targeting enterprises in India, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines that help the poor meet their water and sanitation needs – with a particular focus on MFIs. This seven-year fund, managed by the nonprofit's WaterEquity initiative, aims to reach at least 4.6 million people at the BoP, while offering pre-tax financial returns of 3 percent.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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With New Partner, Wello Rolling Down ‘the Fastest Path to Scale’
Social enterprise Wello today announced it will license sales and manufacturing of its main product, the WaterWheel, to Mumbai-based Nilkamal Limited in India and Sri Lanka. The publicly traded Nilkamal is one of Asia's manufacturers and sellers of injection mold plastic furniture and other plastic home goods. We hear from Cynthia Koenig, founder and CEO of Wello, about what the deal means not only for the for-profit company, but also for other social enterprises facing the perennial struggle of scaling their products.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise
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Saving Lake Atitlán: Women-Focused Business Provides Clean Water – and Good Jobs
After seeing that Guatemala's Lake Atitlán, where she was baptized, was contaminated, leaving thousands without jobs and clean water, Francesca Kennedy founded the social enterprise Ix Style. The company employs local female artisans to make Huarache sandals and bags, and donates 15 percent of proceeds to purchase water filters for families in Guatemala.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- public health
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From Beneficiary to Customer: 40K Transitions from School-building Charity to Edtech Social Enterprise
It took five years for 40K to build its first school in India. Over that time, the organization learned a lot about the key barriers that were preventing quality education from proliferating in rural areas. Over the next two years, 40K transformed from a school-building charity to an edtech social enterprise. Clary Castrission, founder and CEO, explains why, and how the transition is progressing.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Mainstreaming Impact Investing: 12 Takeaways from ‘The Economist’ Event
On Feb. 15, 'The Economist' magazine hosted a discussion in New York on how impact investing can truly go mainstream. NextBillion was a media partner at the event, and we've compiled 12 memorable and sometimes unexpected insights from panelists throughout the day.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Creative Climbing: How Impact Enterprises are Overcoming Obstacles in East Africa
In 2016, Intellecap undertook a study to better understand how East African impact entrepreneurs manage to design viable business models despite the various market challenges. The insights from the study can inform inclusive development in the region and across the global south. The study classified impact enterprises across three levers based on their interaction with the BoP: access, ability and knowledge.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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