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The Least Sexy Approach to Development: Why We Need to Focus on Systems Change
Even within the systems-change sector, people joke that it is one of the least “sexy” facets of development work. Focused on addressing the faults in social, economic and political systems that lead to problems like poverty, the approach can be overwhelmingly complex, which has limited its widespread implementation. But as Lexi Doolittle at S3IDF explains, a market-based approach that nudges these systems towards greater inclusivity and productivity is a vital tool to catalyze social change – one that we cannot afford to overlook.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise, Uncategorized
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Nestlé and Ashoka advance Social Investment Accelerator Programme
Nestlé and Ashoka on Tuesday announced the commencement of a social investment accelerator programme that seeks to advance social entrepreneurship and boost economic development in Africa.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- accelerators
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What’s the Best Way to Teach Entrepreneurship? Assessing the Impact of Different Business Training Approaches
With countless low-income people running small-scale enterprises, many see entrepreneurship as a viable pathway out of poverty. But what are the most effective methods for teaching business skills to these entrepreneurs? MIT D-Lab's Libby McDonald disseminates research from D-Lab's Practical Impact Alliance working group, highlighting key approaches for transferring entrepreneurial knowledge to BoP business owners, and discussing skillsets that can serve as the primary building blocks for a business-training curriculum.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Moving Past Microfinance: How India’s Small Finance Banks Aim to Take Financial Inclusion to the Next Level
The proliferation of microfinance in India has been a double-edged sword: On the one hand, MFIs have reached customers that most mainstream banks have overlooked. On the other, a lack of clear regulation and oversight has had devastating consequences for some borrowers. But regulators have responded with a new category of financial institution, the “small finance bank.” Andreas Nilsson and Nina Freudenberg of Sonanz explore the evolution of these institutions and whether a wider range of products could also mean deeper social impact.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Female-owned businesses driving economic growth, reducing inequality in Ghana
Microenterprises owned by females have been promoted as a powerful engine of economic and social growth, poverty alleviation and a promenade to the elimination of gender inequality. At the same time, research has documented gender gaps in microenterprise business performance and investment, which can serve to reproduce gender inequality and hinder economic growth.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Trust, Not Peer Pressure: Adapting the Global Microfinance Model for the U.S.
After years of working with global MFIs at Whole Foods’ Whole Planet Foundation, Steve Wanta saw that the group lending model that helped microentrepreneurs abroad could also work for Hispanic female entrepreneurs in Texas. But he also realized that the traditional microfinance model could function better with a few twists. In this Q&A with NextBillion, Wanta discusses the lessons he's learned leading the nonprofit JUST, which is adapting the microfinance model for the U.S. market.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Breaking Out of the Social Impact Conference Rut: Five Ways to Design a Truly Impactful Event
Have you ever been to a conference and felt a strange sense of déjà vu – an uncanny feeling that you've seen the sessions, read the buzzwords and heard all the stories before? Even for passionate, insightful members of the social impact community, it's easy to fall into the “same old” when planning a conference. Madhu Viswanathan at the Subsistence Marketplaces Initiative at the University of Illinois shares tips for fellow changemakers who seek to avoid this rut when organizing their own gatherings.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Uncategorized
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Winners of 2018 Resolution Social Venture Challenge announced
A total of 30 teams of Mastercard Foundation Scholars gathered in Kigali, Rwanda to compete in the challenge, for a fellowship that includes seed funding, mentorship, and access to a network of innovators seeking global change through high impact community projects.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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