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Lisa Hall of the Calvert Foundation on Impact Investing: An In-depth Interview
Recently, I interviewed Lisa Hall, President and CEO of Calvert Foundation . Appointed by the Board in January 2011, Lisa joined the foundation in 2005 and brings nearly 25 years of industry experience and has held multiple policy and financial posts. Lisa has held positions in real estate and community development finance with the Enterprise Foundation, JP Morgan Chase and Travelers Insurance. Calvert Foundation’s missi...
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Starbucks: Venti Plans for Micro Loans
The micro-lending revolution , which made it possible for community-based lending institutions to bundle together micro-donations of $25 into loans for entrepreneurs in emerging markets, is making its way to your local Starbucks . Starting No...
- Categories
- Education
- Tags
- academia
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Urban Microfinance Clients Move Out of Poverty Faster than Rural
Rural microfinance clients are both poorer on average than urban clients and urban clients advance out of poverty at a relatively faster rate (26%) then rural clients (21%). These are the findings from a report released by Grameen Foundation that analyses the data collected by Grameen Koota using Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI). Grameen Koota (GK) has analyzed the data for more than 48,000 clients who have at least two PPIs. The results show that poverty levels of GK clients with da...
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Trashy TV with a Message: Soap Opera Attempts to Teach Women About Finances
Entertaining as they may be, soap operas are not generally thought of as learning tools--unless you want to learn whose evil twin is having an affair with whose sister. But as parents can attest from hours of sitting through shows like Sesame Street , television is an effective teaching mechanism when used correctly. And where children may be attracted to a learning program by giant yellow birds and monsters living in trash cans, adults can be swayed by dramatic plotlines and engaging...
- Region
- Latin America
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Pro Mujer Announces $1 Billion Dollar Milestone at Annual “Giving Women Credit” Benefit
Pro Mujer, a non-profit, women’s development and microfinance organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and empowering women in Latin America, held its annual "Giving Women Credit" Benefit at Cipriani 42nd Street on Wednesday evening in New York City. Kathleen A. Corbet, Founder & Principal of Cross Ridge Capital, was recognized as "Humanitarian of the Year" and Manuel Medina-Mora , C...
- Region
- Latin America
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Siemens Sees Growth in Low-cost Products
German multinational Siemens has seen hundred per cent growth in the order book of its low-cost high innovation engineering solutions in 2010-11. The company is making a big push to consolidate its presence in India by setting up six factories to manufacture the innovative products this year. For the past two years, Siemens has been driving the strategy of innovating with low-cost products to compete effectively with local manufacturers. This has also helped it to increase sales. Althou...
- Region
- South Asia
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Merging Self-help and Microfinance, Indian Activist Empowers Poor Farmers and Women
Mohandas Gandhi famously articulated the idea of the "self-sufficient village," in which poor villagers run their own lives and help each other reach a higher, more dignified standard of living. Through unconventional means, activist Nileema Mishra is trying to make this vision a reality in rural India. Early in her career, Nileema veered away from the established activist model of competing for...
- Region
- South Asia
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Green Businesses in Developing World Get $60M Boost, Along With Microfinance
The International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, is launching a $60 million equity financing mechanism to "promote homegrown green innovation in developing countries while encouraging the transfer of clean technologies from developed countries to developing countries." The Cleantech Innovation Facility will help small, highly innovative start-up companies that offer products or services that mitigate carbon emissions. It will n...
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- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America