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When Tropical Storm Isaac Hit, Microinsurance Payouts to Haiti’s Small Business Owners Quickly Followed
Through a for-profit reinsurance company called MiCRO (Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation), formed in March 2011 by the global humanitarian agency Mercy Corps and Haiti’s largest microfinance institution Fonkoze, female microentrepreneurs who hold policies will have their loans cancelled and receive a $125 USD payout to replace damaged inventory or repair homes or businesses.
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North American impact investors are keeping their money close to home
Most of the world’s poor live in developing markets. And, according to some experts, so do ventures with the most long-term growth potential. But relatively few North American impact investments leave Canada and the United States. Are impact investors missing out?
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- impact investing
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How door-to-door business can empower rather than repress women
It's easy to criticise business for expanding into developing countries. But if it helps poor and isolated women, is it all bad?
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- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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After the Revolution: Fostering Egypt’s Social Entrepreneurs, Generating an Inclusive Economy: A report from the 2012 Ashoka Innovation Network Forum
In late June, Ashoka Arab World hosted its sixth annual Ashoka Innovation Network (AIN) Forum, convening over 70 participants including Egypt’s business entrepreneurs, corporate representatives interested in leveraging business’ role in social change, established and aspiring social entrepreneurs, young professionals from the business and civil sectors, community leaders and media. The excitement was evident as the forum filled with concerned stakeholders, and provided a safe space for these leaders from diverse sectors to air their challenges honestly.
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After Invention, it Only Gets Harder: Technology distribution isn’t as sexy as innovation, but it’s critical
However noble an engineer’s aspirations may be, mere invention is not enough. Functional sales, marketing, distribution, and after-sales service strategies are required to get technologies into the hands of people they are intended to benefit. Without this holistic picture, technologies fail to achieve significant impact, and are essentially designed in vain.
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Making housing more affordable in Mexico
In many parts of the world, if families outgrow their homes they simply add on to them. They grow 'em, piece by piece, room by room, brick by brick, when they get some extra cash. But, turns out, that's not very efficient. It wastes money, supplies, and lots of time.Alex Goldmark reports from Mexico, on a new way to build affordable housing -- and I mean really affordable.
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- housing
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In Andhra Pradesh, moneylenders rush to fill vacuum created by MFIs
The Andhra Pradesh crackdown on microfinance companies has driven an increasing number of poor borrowers in the State back into the arms of local moneylenders, a recent survey shows.
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- Region
- South Asia
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- microfinance
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NexThought Monday: It’s a Capital (Plus Advisory) Problem, Not a Pipeline Problem
Flexible and longer-term capital is in short supply in the marketplace. This capital should align with an enterprise’s stage of maturity, business model, and possibility of exit whether to commercial investors, hybrid investors, or public actors. There remains a need for grant capital but grants need to be strategic, much like Angel finance.
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- impact investing
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