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The Age of Big Data
Where should we build the next road? Can we predict where disease will spread to next? Many disciplines tackle these issues in their own, disparate ways. But according to Nathan Eagle, featured speaker at Columbia Social Enterprise Conference, we’ve entered a new era where that might not always be the case - all thanks to mobile phone data.
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- Technology
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Technology Plus Humanity – An Equation for Social Collaboration
At the 2011 Columbia Social Enterprise Conference panel last week, 3 social enterprise managers pondered technology’s role in the social sector today and how it advances philanthropy. A theme throughout the panel was the importance of incorporating the human experience into the technology, a potential key to unlocking a surge in donor activity.
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- Social Enterprise, Technology
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Aakash: Game Changer or Another Brick in the Wall?
"Aakash," touted to be the world’s cheapest tablet, was launched by the Indian government last week and distributed via pilot program to 500, rual primary school students across India. With the considerable buzz surrounding the $35 device, will the BoP market truly have something to cheer for?
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- Technology
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Friday Roundup – 10/07/11 The Next Steve Jobs …
As the plane landed upon my return from the ANDE Conference, I fired up my iPhone to read a news alert: ?Apple Announces Steve Jobs Has Died.? I flashed back to my old Apple IIe. Who would be the next iconic innovator to bring the power once held up on high to the people? Would their cause be bringing affordable technology to the poor?
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- Technology
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Making the Market VS Making It In the Market, What One Laptop Per Child Can Teach Us
Since its much publicized launch in 2005, Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child program has been both lauded and criticized. In a recent conversation hosted by NYU’s Reynolds Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs, he was steadfast in defending against criticisms about the efficacy of OLPC, but signaled new directions for educating poor children.
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- Technology
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Reaching the Next Billion Through Mobile
As a preview to this week?s Columbia Social Enterprise Conference, I had the pleasure of speaking with mobile technology innovator Nathan Eagle, co-founder and CEO of Jana. Currently generating revenue in over 50 countries, Jana (Sanskrit for ?people?) enables global organizations to directly engage with BoP consumers through mobile phones.
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- Social Enterprise, Technology
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Reinventing the Mobile Market in Mexico
Without a credit card, bank account, or official employment history, mobile providers are unwilling to take the gamble on providing a post-paid monthly plan option to Mexico’s poor. It sounds a lot like what many poor people encounter when attempting to obtain a loan. It’s in this environment where the founders of Finestrella saw an opportunity.
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- Technology
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The Doughnut Hole in Sustainable Finance
Despite the recent upsurge in attention to "social," "impact," and "clean tech" investing, there is still a structural gap ? a doughnut hole ? in sustainable finance. But this also means that there is a huge opportunity for visionary financiers to invent the new investment categories and asset classes needed to fill this gap.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
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