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Tackling food waste through a social enterprise model
The founder of social enterprise Rubies in the Rubble, proves that you can run a company with a business head and a charitable heart
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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It is important to make money in business, but not at the cost of ethics and values: Sam Pitroda
Sam Pitroda, who led the telecom revolution in India, says the second phase will see a slew of opportunities for startups in areas such as broadband, mobile applications and local content. Pitroda, an advisor to the Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovation, is helping the government launch a $1-billion fund to invest in bottom-of-the-pyramid innovations. In conversation with ET he retraces a journey that has seen him survive cancer and bypass surgeries. Excerpts:
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Rural banks partner with telcos to boost microfinance
Rural banks will soon have their own set of “killer apps” to better compete with bigger banks and, more importantly, expand their microfinance services in the Philippines.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Ditch The Hero Complex, And 3 Other Tips For Female Social Entrepreneurs
Ten years ago, social entrepreneurship was a pretty lonely field. There weren’t degree programs or associations; impact investing and microfinance were barely even recognized terms. Even organizations like Ashoka – which has a 25-year history of investing in entrepreneurs with high potential for solving social problems – would have struggled to promote their “Everyone a Changemaker” vision.
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- Uncategorized
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SIFP and Fledge Form Partnership
Social Innovation Fast Pitch (“SIFP”) has partnered with Fledge, the “conscious company” incubator, to provide additional advice, mentorship, and support to the for-profit finalists of the SIFP 2012 program. Additionally, the SIFP 2012 Fund II investors have selected Fledge to manage the operations of this year’s $100,000 investment fund.
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- Uncategorized
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SolarKiosk: Mobile Modular Power for Really Remote Areas
For those who’ve grown up constantly plugged into the power grid, it’s almost impossible to think of life without an endless supply of outlets, power cords, and technology. But for an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world, power—from cutting and burning firewood to lighting kerosene lamps, paraffin, and candles—doesn't come easy.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Tags
- Base of the Pyramid, solar
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India’s microfinance industry gets some relief
It’s a period in history that India’s microfinance industry would probably rather forget: In late 2010, more than 200 poor residents of the Andhra Pradesh state committed suicide allegedly due to excessive pressure from microcreditors for debt repayments. Backlash against microfinance institutions not just in the state but the whole of India followed.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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The Secret of Africa’s Banking Boom: Mobility
While U.S. and European banks suffer hangovers from the Great Recession and continued shock waves inside the eurozone, Africa’s top lenders have never looked stronger or been more ambitious. Why is a continent better known for political instability and foreign aid riding a banking boom characterized by aggressive pan-African expansion and swelling balance sheets?
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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