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Growth Support Services: Taking Women-Run SMEs to the Next Level
The VV GROW Fellowship invests in women business owners in emerging economies, supporting them through three training stages: 1) virtual training, 2) in-person training, and 3) growth services and support. Here, four business owners talk about how, in the final stage of the fellowship, they implemented and revised their action plans and evaluated progress toward their growth goals.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
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Weekly Roundup: A 1,030-Enterprise Survey, a Cuba/U.S. Collaboration, and a ‘Big Bet’ Primer
An expansive survey of social enterprises, a new health care collaboration between some old Cold War rivals, and an ambitious exploration of the challenges of "big bets" in philanthropy highlight this week's roundup of social business and global development news.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Health Care, Social Enterprise
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On the Podcast: What’s next for the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership? An Interview with CEO Mark Gunton
In the latest NextBillion Podcast, we chat with Mark Gunton, CEO of the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership. This is a pivotal time for CGEP, as its connection to the Clintons has brought intense scrutiny from the media and politicians during this presidential campaign. In our wide-ranging discussion, Gunton discusses the election's potential impact on CGEP, and talks about its approach to scaling enterprises, some mistakes it made early on, and his concerns about how social entrepreneurship is practiced today.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Rethinking the ‘Youth Are Not Interested in Agriculture’ Narrative
Agriculture is the backbone of many sub-Saharan countries and, anecdotal evidence aside, it's not necessarily true that youth are not interested in it. But the sector won't reach its huge potential, and "agripreneurs" won't get the support they need, until certain government and private sector structures and processes are transformed.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Beyond Imagination: GE, Miller Center Helping Keep Moms, Children Healthy
A pilot called healthymagination Mother and Child – a unique partnership between Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, based in Silicon Valley, and GE, which is investing $20 million in the joint venture – accelerates much-needed medical innovations in nine countries across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Weekly Roundup: PSI for Profit, a Slowing ‘Pulse’ in Africa and Medical Tourism on Steroids
The non-profit Population Services International (PSI) announces the launch of a for-profit business in India, sub-Saharan Africa braces for "the lowest growth in more than 20 years," and Obamacare generates some unintended – and potentially exciting – consequences. We discuss these and other issues in our weekly roundup of social business and global development news.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise
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The Accidental Social Entrepreneur: A Hippie Ecologist’s Foray into a Costa Rican Business Start-up
Fifteen years ago, American Lisa Bradshaw became a social entrepreneur. But at the time, she didn't know it. When she launched the eco-conscious and locally sourced Green Screen in 2002, no other plant-based insect repellents were on the market in Costa Rica and certification requirements for organic products had just recently been legislated. Here are some of the hard lessons she picked up.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Social Enterprise
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‘A Sweet Spot for Impact Investing’: Omidyar Network’s Roopa Kudva discusses India’s Growing Prominence
There was a surprising amount of tension on SOCAP's panel on impact investing in India, much of it revolving around a simple question: Are these investments making a difference? As one panelist put it, "Just because you're doing it, doesn't mean it's actually helping." Roopa Kudva, a partner at Omidyar Network, sat on the panel, and afterward she shared her views on this question, and on the impact sector's growing prominence in India, in a video Q&A.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
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