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Innovation in Africa: Upwardly mobile
VISITORS to Kenya’s capital are often horrified by the homicidal minibuses called matatu. They swerve around potholes, seldom signal and use their iffy brakes only at the last second. They are therefore an ideal subject for a video game, which is why Planet Rackus, a Nairobi start-up, released “Ma3Racer” last year. Each player uses his mobile phone to steer a matatu down the street. The (unrealistic) goal is to avoid pedestrians. Within a month, a quarter of a million people in 169 countries had downloaded the game.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Is a Youth Revolution Brewing in India?
Among the world’s major countries, India has the youngest population, and the oldest leaders. A startling four-decade gap between the median age of India’s people and that of its government officials most recently reared its head with a heavy-handed and widely-maligned crackdown on free speech on the Internet.
- Region
- South Asia
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TISS to fund, mentor entrepreneurship students
The social entrepreneurship students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), keen on starting their venture at a time when the economy is volatile, now have a back-up.The institute has introduced a scheme this year to fund and mentor students pursuing masters in social entrepreneurship for three years.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Will Renewable Energy Be the Focus of Crowdfunding Social Entrepreneurs?
With the advent of Crowdfund Investing (aka equity or debt-based crowdfunding) will we now see technology merge with social entrepreneurship to solve some of the world’s leading societal problems?
- Categories
- Environment
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Social enterprise should be made central to higher education strategy
When I went to university in the late 1970s, fewer than 20% of school leavers when on to higher education. Some degrees were clearly vocational (medicine perhaps the most obvious example), but most were not. My module on the Comparative Government of Indonesia and Nigeria has not, I'm afraid to say, been of direct relevance to me in the world of work.
- Categories
- Education
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An App For Boosting Social Enterprise Retailers
Here’s a good idea: Boosting social enterprise through a useful app. Specifically, one that helps like-minded customers find triple bottom line retailers in their area. Consumers who want to patronize such enterprises get easy access to information they probably wouldn’t know about otherwise. And businesses have an effective way to market their wares.
- Categories
- Technology
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Rwanda: Tigo Unveils New Package for Social Entrepreneurs
Tigo and "Reach for Change", an international NGO, have launched a new campaign with an aim of supporting social entrepreneurs to enhance the lives of Rwandan youth.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Start-ups like InVenture flourish with technology services for micro finance firms
BANGALORE: A new wave of start-up companies is building technology enabled services aimed at bridging the communication gap between borrowers and lenders in the embattled microfinance industry.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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