-
Deoria, Epicentre for a Social Enterprise
The Jagriti Yatra, a 15-day train journey that takes 450 budding entrepreneurs around the country, is a large enterprise in itself but it is just one layer of a larger vision to promote social enterprise. The key to understanding this larger idea lies in Deoria, a district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which will act as an epicentre to put this plan into action.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
-
It Takes a Village to Build a Business – Lessons Learned From a Fintech Accelerator in Mexico
Accion Venture Lab recently teamed with Village Capital and the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth to launch its first-ever business accelerator. Its goal was clear: to find and assemble the 12 best early-stage fintech companies in Mexico, and help them take the leap from betas to scalable businesses. Jackie Hyland discusses lessons learned from the experience in this post.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
The Female Factor: Why enrolling more women as mobile money agents can benefit service providers, customers – and the agents themselves
Research has shown that enrolling more female mobile money agents can improve customer service and increase public trust in bank products and brands. It also provides these women with a valuable source of income. That’s why the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women has partnered with FirstBank of Nigeria and the Youth for Technology Foundation to train 2,500 Nigerian women entrepreneurs as Firstmonie agents.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
How a Skincare Company Is Creating Jobs in Africa and Ending the “Thatchwork Ceiling”
On a drive down the Pacific coast from San Francisco at the height of the first tech bubble, Magatte Wade had a sudden epiphany. She had a successful career, but she couldn't stop thinking about friends and family struggling to find work back in Senegal, where she'd grown up.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- crowdfunding
-
Opinion: Stop Calling Everything ‘Social Entrepreneurship’
The term “disruptive innovation” is thrown around a lot these days. From AirBnb to Uber, everyone seems to be disrupting something, and the phrase has permeated the lexicon of start-up and blue-chip companies alike. I admit, I’m guilty as well.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
New IFC Report Examines Challenges to Microfinance in the Arab World
A new study from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has found that external risks, security concerns, and over-indebtedness are perceived as the most serious challenges facing the microfinance sector in the Arab World.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
-
‘Seeing People for Who They Are, Not What They Can Prove on Paper’
Shubham, which is focused on helping urban, lower-income families in India own a home through financing, lays out some of the problems it has encountered and issues it foresees in the informal home loan segment.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Survey: Cash and Mobile Money Transactions Rise as Zimbabweans Shun Banking Sector
More than 80 percent of local transactions happen in cash as Zimbabweans continue to shun the formal banking process while more than 25 percent of bank accounts are dormant. According to a new survey titled “Making Access Possible (MAP) Diagnostic” conducted in Zimbabwe mobile money subscriptions grew by over 100 percent in the last two years as they are more preferred than banks for transactions.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.