-
IIM Calcutta setting up incubator for BoP startups
Startup incubators and accelerators have been cropping up across the country in the recent times (which is good news for the domestic startup ecosystem). Now Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta is planning to set up an incubation centre which will focus on social enterprises addressing the problems of people living at the bottom of the pyramid.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
-
Economies of Scale or Diseconomies of Enormity: Should there be more mergers and acquisitions of international development NGOs?
In the for-profit sector, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are ways to ensure that the most effective organizations survive and achieve greater scale. This improves cost-effectiveness in the overall market and spreads best practices more widely. But with the large numbers of NGOs in international development, why don’t we see more M&A activity in the non-profit sector? In light of the recent Merlin and Save the Children merger, WDI’s Prashant Yadav explores some reasons.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Social Enterprises: Bubble building within the space, creating fissures in the sector
When shoeshine boys start giving stock tips, then you know something is wrong, goes an old Wall Street dictum.When this aphorism begins to resonate in the field of impact investing and social enterprises endeavouring to address some of the most intractable societal challenges of today, then it is indeed worrying.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing
-
Indonesia’s Microfinance Industry Faces Overwhelming Demand
A tattooed man briefly interrupted Wastiri as he ducked into her roadside stall, taking a seat alongside the slow-moving traffic that crawled down the narrow Tanjung Priok street. She flashed him a smile as he greeted her, beaming wide and toothless from her perch atop a worn wooden bench.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
-
Financial inclusion gap: Some progress, but wide disparities remain
Despite increased attention on the need to bridge the global financial inclusion gap, much of the adult population in the developing world still does not have bank accounts. Many do not have convenient access to traditional financial services either. But the gap is decreasing, a recently released report on financial inclusion finds.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Microfinance sector being gender biased?
Women represent 59 percent of the total microfinance borrowers in Pakistan, says a World Bank report titled "Are Pakistani women being served by the Microfinance Sector". This share is seemingly an impressive proportion for a male dominated society like Pakistan. Now take a step back and look beyond the numbers. Around 50-70 percent of the micro-loans drawn by women are passed on to male members of their family.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
-
Entrepreneurship a way out of poverty in Guatemala
Javier Villatoro grew up without a mom and dad in Guatemala City. He dropped out of school in his late teens to learn to cut Guatemalan jade and other precious stones and to work silver with Argentinean jewelers.He used his earnings to buy drugs, alcohol and snuff. He struggled with thoughts of suicide.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
-
Banks and social enterprise
Last week, the Cooperative Bank launched the Social Enterprise Directplus account. It's specifically for community interest companies (CICs) set up with social or environmental value as their primary goal and offers a number of free banking facilities.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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.