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Novogratz on Patient Capital Potential in Latin America
At last month’s United Forum for Social Innovation in Bogotá, I had the opportunity to talk with Jaqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund. We asked her about what she considers the main challenges of innovation and social entrepreneurship in Latin America, the role of the public sector in promoting social innovation, the underlying logic of the approaches to overcoming poverty, and about Acumen’s intentions in Latin America.
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- Uncategorized
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Investors Can Rid the World of Slums
Approximately 180,000 people are added to the urban grid each day, according to the United Nations. That means, according to other estimates, that nearly 100,000 housing units are needed — every day, all around the world.
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Can Coffee Kick-Start an Economy?
When he set out to wedge his coffee onto supermarket shelves in England and America, Andrew Rugasira didn’t start by making phone calls from his home in Kampala, Uganda. He didn’t begin by sending e-mails. The distance seemed too great for that. At one end of his business were farmers who, until he came along, thought their beans were purchased and carried off to make gunpowder. At the other were buyers at the corporate headquarters of chains like Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, Whole Foods and Wal-Mart. If he was going to succeed, he felt he would have to do it physically; it was as if he believed he could stretch himself to span the divide between the two worlds. So he got on a plane to London, without trying any advance contact.
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- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Microinsurance in Rapid Expansion Says ILO, Munich Re Report
According to the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labor Organizationand the Munich Re Foundation, “the number of microinsurance schemes worldwide has increased substantially over the past five years and now reaches an estimated 500 million worldwide.”
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- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Intel Releases Rugged Education Tablet for the Developing World
Intel has launched the latest device in its line of classroom computers: a tablet, Intel studybook.The Intel studybook is built to be both a rigorous education tool and a sturdy playmate. It comes loaded with Intel’s Learning Series software, including an interactive ereader and LabCam applications.
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- Education, Technology
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Study: OLPC Fails Students as a Tool for Education
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program of low-cost laptops for developing countries has not led to any measurable impact in academic achievement, according to a recent report.
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- Education, Impact Assessment, Technology
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- Latin America
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Why Designers Need To Stop Feeling Sorry For Africa
Taking a patronizing approach to investing in Africa undermines both the country’s people and entrepreneurial promise, argue Jens Martin Skibsted and Rasmus Bech Hansen.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Daniel Izzo on Brazil’s First Impact Investing Venture Capital Firm
Recently, the Opportunities for the Majority (OMJ) Initiative of the Inter-American Development Bank hosted Daniel Izzo, co-founder and partner of Vox Capital, Brazil’s first impact investing venture capital firm, which focuses on high potential businesses that serve the Brazilian low income population through products and services with the potential to improve their lives.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America