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Will Surekha Dial an Ambulance?
A tiny bead of sweat ran down the ridge of my nose. It reached the end, teetered for a split second, then dropped quietly onto the doctor?s desk. I sat behind the desk, inside the Vijay Nagar Women of India clinic, which is tucked into a government-built housing project in the Bandra East area of Mumbai.
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Global Social Venture Competition: Weighing the Health of Children in Mali
Around one in five children in Mali dies before his or her fifth birthday. Imagine preventing half of these 117,000 annual deaths with a few cell phones and scales. I interviewed the founders of Pesinet - a new organization and 2009 GSVC finalist - and I’m excited about the ability of their new micro-insurance program to accomplish just that.
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Philanthropy, Development and Enterprise
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Global Philanthropy Forum for the first time, and although it’s been a few days already, I would like to share some thoughts on what I saw and heard. The nexus between development and enterprise was discussed broadly throughout the conference...
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The Social Enterprise Space is Alive in India: Sankalp 09
The social enterprise space is alive and well in India. This is my overarching conclusion having spent all day Tuesday at the inaugural Sankalp Forum, hosted by Intellecap in Mumbai.Sankalp - which means "pledge" or "determination" in English - focused on the role of business in driving social change.
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Builders, Politicians Cheer Affordable Homes in India
Mumbai: A recent state government lottery for about 4,000 low-cost apartments in Mumbai drew more than 430,000 applications, underlining the need for affordable housing in a country where housing is also a top election issue. Political parties of all hues have seized on affordable homes as a vote getter in India’s ongoing general election, plugging in to the frustration of millions priced out of a real estate boom fuelled by a robust economy and a six-year bull market. Devel...
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- South Asia
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Go Beyond Profit
Are you ready to go beyond profit, to explore the range of social enterprise? If you’re reading NextBillion.net, the answer is probably yes. In this case, you’re in luck - a new magazine just launched, targeting this very niche (beyond profit, beyond charity - the missing middle.)
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Revisiting the Avon Lady Poverty Reduction Debate
Oxford business professor Linda Scott is trying to verify something that many BoP business models are based on: the idea that becoming an Avon lady could help poor women in developing nations get out poverty. Her research in South Africa, which is not yet complete, indicates the Avon model might be what some need to get out of poverty...
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Global Social Venture Competition Finals: “All it takes is one person with a dream”
Last Friday 15 finalists from India, the U.S., New Zealand, France, England, Indonesia and Thailand gathered at U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to compete in the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC). The teams presented business plans that were financially viable and make a social impact to an expert panel of judges.
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