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Bahrain’s Family Bank: Pioneering Islamic Microfinance
Under Islamic law, the conventional practice of charging interest for loans is prohibited. So how can the estimated 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide access microfinance products? Institutions like the Family Bank in Bahrain attempt to provide an answer by offering microfinance services that are fully compliant with Islamic banking laws.
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Transitions in the NextBillion Team: Rob Katz and Acumen Fund
I’m finding it difficult to put the right words on paper today as I seek to let you know about some important transitions on site. Today, I’ll officially transition from my role as a Managing Editor on NextBillion to that of a Staff Writer. Acumen Fund, my employer, transitions from its role as a Managing Partner to that of an Associate Partner.
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Social Enterprise All Around: A Look at Noteworthy Events Coming Up
August is around the corner and the summer is slowly starting to wind down. The social enterprise scene continues to burst with activity, however, and here’s a brief overview of what’s going on in the next couple of months.
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A Closer Look at the “Business in a Bag” Model
This post is part of a series that introduces iuMAP, a web-based social enterprise directory developed by Ayllu and launched in media partnership with NextBillion. It analyzes the "business in a bag" model of microfranchise, used by several social enterprises to expand their operations.
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Stories from Sarvajal’s Turf: Cartels
Cartels engage in price fixing, which can become a hindrance to any business. It becomes a challenging task to then engage in marketing while ensuring the security of your stakeholders as well as expanding the business. In the Stories from Sarvajal series, Rishabh describes his experience working at Sarvajal, a for profit water enterprise.
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International Development’s Dirty Little Secret
There is a curious phenomenon in international development-one that has been a taboo subject for many years. It eludes the calculations of economists, confounds private sector growth, and interferes with the proper functioning of public services. And it helps explain the following facts:
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Calling All BoP Innovators: $100K Up For Grabs!
Its that time of the year again; until October 5th 2010, the Lemelson-MIT program is accepting nominations for their 2011 Award for Sustainability.
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Health Market Innovations: A Knowledge Base for BoP Markets
Operation ASHA is an example of a health market innovation, a program that is helping to improve the way health markets operate so that more of the transactions between consumers and private health care providers actually lead to better health and financial protection for the poor. CHMI has launched a new site to track health market innovations.
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