-
1,300 Schools is a Good Start, but the True Learning Curve is Sustainable Livelihoods
The recent announcement of Aziz Premji Foundation (APF) to launch 1,300 schools across various districts in India is expected to improve the education scenario in many rural districts. Impressive as it is, focusing on access to education for children, instead of building sustainable incomes for their parents, may not be the bridge out of poverty.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Guest Post: Is it Immoral to Earn Attractive Profits from Poor Customers?
Should we crafting a be a business system that enhances the livelihoods of poor people without making a profit for outside investors? Or should it make a profit for investors as well as the poor people who are served by it? To me the answer is obvious.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
SELCO: A Business, Ongoing Case Study in Solar-Powered Social Impact
SELCO, a social enterprise traditionally focused on providing solar energy to the rural underserved, has launched a new urban model in India that has helped electrify a set of slum-dwelling households in Bangalore. The early success has been less about the feat of solar power in slums, and more about creating a ripple effect for social impact.
- Categories
- Energy, Impact Assessment
-
Three Decades in the Making, How the Aravind Model Came into Focus
At the core of Aravind?s success is a strong culture of service, an attitude of daily work, not as a mechanical endeavor, but as work in service of self and community. This central ethic permeates the Aravind workforce and drives its mission. But how does a culture of service, where many patients are treated for free, add up to good business?
- Categories
- Health Care
-
Housing Series: Establishing Quality Standards for Affordable Housing
Who enforces building standards? If customers are sold a home with sub-standard construction or materials - or their neighbor builds a dangerously unstable structure - what recourse do BoP citizens have? The certification prices we are developing is not a one-time "stamp of approval." Rather, it starts with pre-building and lasts over time.
- Categories
- Investing
-
“Hot” and “Bright” Business Models: Bringing Energy to the BoP
’We have technology - we just need a business model’ is the rallying cry for a whole lot of promising BoP projects. Many of these look good, but still face major difficulties in getting their products in the hands of people, and getting the people (or someone else) to pay for it. The "Energize the BoP!" business model generator provides support.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
NextThought Monday: When Mass Marketing Meets Global Health, the Case of Lifebuoy Soap
While the UN continues to fall well short of its Millennium Development Goals and aid agencies pour ever-more money into hygiene aid programs, Lifebuoy is taking a very different approach. The Unilever brand recently launched an effort to globalize its hand washing campaign, marketing its way towards the one billion benchmark.
- Categories
- Health Care
-
Housing Series: From the Field, Reflections From Two Dow Corning Leaders on Building a BoP Market
Dow Corning’s Citizen Service Corps sends employees around the world to see, hear and think about what new markets need, and come back ready to translate those insights into innovations and new products. The posts below are excerpts from two employees who worked on Housing for All in India as their volunteer experience.
- Categories
- Uncategorized