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Cashless Education: How mobile money helps Bridge International Academies deliver quality for-profit education for $6 a month – Part 5 in our Digital Finance Plus series
Bridge International Academies has integrated mobile money fully into its business. All of the school’s 300+ branches accept no cash, using mobile money for school fees, student lunch purchases, payments to staff and vendors, and expense reimbursements. In part 5 of our Digital Finance Plus series, Marie Leznicki explains how going cashless helps Bridge maintain its customer focus.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Niches for Social Enterprises: How hybrid-model social enterprises cluster in Kenya and Vietnam
A review by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), of social enterprise activity in the agriculture and health sectors of Kenya and Vietnam found that hybrid-model social enterprises cluster in niches that mainstream business and state provision do not reach. Identifying and understanding these context-specific niches could hold the key to effective support of social enterprise activities.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- research
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Sankalp Social Enterprise Award Finalists and the Stories They Tell : Videos exemplify the spirt of social entrepreurs
It’s a long road to the coveted Sankalp Social Enterprise Awards trophy. India’s leading social enterprise awards run through a process that lasts close to six months, and sees a hard-fought battle.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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A Call to Action for Greater Co-Creation Between Social and Business: Collaborative competition aims to forge relationships between pioneers in this space
We live in a world of harsh social and environmental challenges. No player - whether government, social entrepreneur, non-profit or business - can address them alone. That’s why Ashoka and partners have launched an online collaborative competition called Social & Business Co-Creation: collaboration for impact. They are accepting entries until April 10.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
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(With Video) Beyond the Prototype: Wello’s CEO on product design, understanding customers and advice for social entrepreneurs
Cynthia Koenig, CEO of Wello, whose flagship product is a rolling water tank, advises against getting too reliant on a series of check boxes when it comes to measuring impact. In a video interview with NB, she talks about prototyping the next generation of the device, designed for BoP customers.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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NexThought Monday – China’s Social Enterprise Movement Set to Blast Off: The country is urging a bigger role for social enterprise in society and the economy
China is urging a bigger role for social enterprise in society and the economy. In response, socially-minded businesses are taking off. Given China’s energy and strong entrepreneurial spirit, as the social enterprise movement grows and flourishes, the world’s second largest economy could soon be poised to make a significant global impact.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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The 5th Annual Impact Conference at Sustainatopia: One of the world’s largest impact investing conferences to be held in Miami, April 16-18, 2014
Sustainatopia is one of the world’s largest events for social, financial, and environmental sustainability, drawing over 350 speakers and hundreds of attendees from 40 countries. Its Impact Conference will feature some of the top names in impact investing and social enterprise. As a media partner, NextBillion will provide extensive coverage and interviews with several key speakers.
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Know Thy Hospital: Engineers and entrepreneurs are rethinking medical device design, and the world could be healthier as a result
Well-meaning individuals and organizations from high-income countries often donate medical equipment – mostly used – to hospitals in low-resource settings. But it often fails because it isn’t designed for the "predictable unpredictability" of these settings. Mike Miesen argues that we need innovative devices designed for the needs of the customer, not the donor.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- product design