NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

A Young Entrepreneur Is Building the Amazon of Bangladesh

Blending online and offline commerce, Deligram is one of a number of emerging startups in the country.

Source

TechCrunch (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Technology

Region

South Asia

Tags

e-commerce, emerging markets, technology

Future Returns: Investing With a Gender Lens

Gender lens investing strategies have boomed in recent years, fueled by the #MeToo movement, increased awareness about how women often are treated, and a recognition that companies benefit when diversity and inclusion is fostered.

Source

Barron's (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Investing

Tags

gender lens, impact investing

Kenyan Consortium Launches Mobile Banking App

CBK Governor Dr. Patrick Njoroge said, "Until now, lending to MSMEs has been constrained by the lack of reliable information to assess their creditworthiness. The innovation in this product is the use of all data on customers' transactions to fill this gap. In that sense it is revolutionary."

Source

ITWeb Africa (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Finance, Technology

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

digital finance, emerging markets, fintech, mobile banking, mobile lending, MSMEs, SMEs

The Man With a Tablet for Making Aid to African Countries Better

Struck by failings in the implementation of health projects, a Mozambican entrepreneur has turned to tech for a solution.

Source

The Guardian (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education, Health Care, Technology

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

digital inclusion, global development, global health, public health, rural development, social enterprise, social impact, tech for good, technology, WHO

Viewpoint: Shut Up, Ask Questions and Embrace the Struggle: Jed Emerson’s Plea to Impact Investors

Jed Emerson has never been afraid to tell it like it is. Now, after 30-odd years of exploring impact and purpose-driven capital – and eight books later – he believes the field has become ‘lazy’, offering superficial answers to humanity’s most difficult questions as we skip straight to the ‘how’ of tactics and strategy.

Source

Pioneers Post (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Investing

Tags

impact investing, social change, social impact

HBS, Impact Investing And The Power Of Story – The Rise Fund’s Maya Chorengel

She has been an instrumental force in proving that delivery of positive impact can exist alongside competitive financial returns, mobilizing the investing market to advance social and environmental benefits at scale.

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Investing

Tags

gender equality, impact investing

Inside the Quest to Measure the Impact of Impact Investing

This is the kind of valuation challenge impact investors have been grappling with for years. Purely financial investments come with an accepted methodology for measuring return on investment. But with investments in projects or organizations working to deliver social or environmental impact, there’s no shared accounting framework for measuring the value of what’s been achieved.

Source

GreenBiz (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Impact Assessment, Investing

Tags

Impact Assessment, impact investing

Chinese Investments Fuel Growth in African Science

Africa has emerged as a major partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and that is paying dividends for science.

Source

Nature (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

development finance, economic development, emerging markets, research