-
Are the days of the African unicorn numbered?
Hopes of seeing an African unicorn on the horizon have been floated around for years, but increasingly, investors are changing their focus. The emerging consensus is that Africa needs to forget about “mythical” unicorns, and focus on building more successful local companies.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- startups
-
NB Quick Takes: Polman’s Out at Unilever – Let the Legacy Debate Begin!
In case you hadn't heard: Paul Polman is retiring as CEO of Unilever at the end of the year. Perhaps no other executive has been as closely associated with corporate social responsibility as Polman, who put social impact at the forefront of his agenda. That's not to say all of his initiatives were successful, nor were they without detractors – his retirement is sparking lots of discussion about his approach and its effectiveness at Unilever, not to mention its influence across the business world. We've gathered some early Twitter reactions in this post.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Uncategorized
-
Pakistan Fights Poverty with A Gig Platform
A website similar to LinkedIn connects offline workers in the South Asian country with potential employers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- employment
-
Press release: Alipay Teams with NUS Enterprise to Launch Social Innovation Challenge
The Alipay-NUS Enterprise Social Innovation Challenge aims to identify and support the growth of start-ups in Southeast Asia that are using digital technology to build a more inclusive society.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- startups
-
Social Entrepreneurs Are Opening New Pathways To Transform The Apparel Industry
Innovation in the fashion industry is finding new meaning in the 21st century -- meaning focused first and foremost on economic development, environmental sustainability, and empowerment of workers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Giving poor people cash is a good idea. Giving entrepreneurs cash might be a great one
As the country’s population continues to grow—the median age of in the country is only 18—the economy is struggling to create jobs at a sufficiently fast pace.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
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
-
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
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.