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The Problem with ‘Forced Entrepreneurship’: How Universities — and Venture Capitalists — are Failing Climate Tech Innovators
Universities are increasingly positioning themselves as hubs of business innovation, and as Emre Eren Korkmaz at the University of Oxford explains, their support has become an important driver of climate tech innovation. But he argues that universities’ "one size fits all" approach to supporting these innovators is fundamentally flawed, prioritizing the pathway to entrepreneurship — and the demands of venture capitalists — rather than empowering true innovation. He explores the problem and highlights some alternative approaches.
- Categories
- Education, Environment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Next Cohort Of Upaya’s Dignified Jobs Accelerator Focuses On Waste And Circularity
Upaya Social Ventures has announced the launch of the Circular Innovation Cohort under the Dignified Jobs Accelerator to support for-profit, post-revenue businesses in India’s plastics, and textiles & fashion waste management sectors.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Mind Over Matter: Why Developing a Growth Mindset is Key to Unlocking Women Farmers’ Success in Africa
Agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa has typically centered on training farmers, providing them with inputs like seeds and fertilizers, and introducing technologies to improve their farming practices. Yet as Michelle Kurian at The Harvest Fund explains, these efforts have failed to spark a “green revolution” across the region. She explores the key role that a growth mindset can play in farmers' success, and argues that fostering this mindset shift — particularly among women — is a crucial priority that demands immediate attention.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Press Release: Applications Open for 100X Impact Accelerator’s 2025/2026 Cohort
100x is looking for highly scalable models, that can be for-profit or non-profit, addressing global challenges in the areas of climate and environment, democracy, education, health, and social cohesion, among others.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Commits to Catalyzing $200 Million for Social Entrepreneurs to End Global Poverty
The investment fund forms an integral part of Miller Center’s continuum of support for social enterprises, from the accelerator program to ongoing programmatic offerings and financial leverage.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Putting Communities at the Center of Impact Measurement: Why Locally Led Evaluations are Key to Measuring Project Success
Development organizations and donors often measure impact by asking if their target population was lifted, to some degree, out of poverty. But as Henok Begashaw at iDE argues, traditional impact measurement approaches centered around poverty reduction — like household surveys designed by outside technical experts — can fail to capture the key outcomes of an initiative. He explores the benefits of a locally led measurement approach that allows organizations to develop a rich picture of project outcomes, based on what beneficiaries themselves say is important.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Measuring Systems Change: Three Tools for Understanding Your System-Level Impact
There's a growing realization that traditional solutions to individual global challenges often fail to address the interconnected causes at the root of these issues. As a result, impact-focused organizations are increasingly viewing these problems as part of a broader system, and developing solutions that aim to make positive systemic change. But as Gaurav Gupta and Bianca Samson at Dalberg and Saloni Atal at Artha Global explain, measuring system-level impact presents some unique difficulties. They explore these challenges and share some measurement tools that can allow organizations to separate the signal from the noise.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
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Berlin Edtech Pioneer EIDU Open Sources Code to Boost Global Learning
EIDU partners with governments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to sustainably and affordably digitise public education systems.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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