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The Blockchain Experiments Have Begun: Here’s What They Could Yield for Business and Development
The buzz around blockchain is loud. But despite the widespread attention the tech has generated, it has yet to live up to its potential to make a major impact in low- and middle-income countries, according to Akhtar Badshah of Catalytic Innovators Group. Badshah profiles blockchain success stories from the for-profit, social enterprise and development sectors alike, arguing that if more organizations would give the tech a chance, they (and their beneficiaries) could tap into its great potential.
- Categories
- Technology
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What’s the Best Way to Teach Entrepreneurship? Assessing the Impact of Different Business Training Approaches
With countless low-income people running small-scale enterprises, many see entrepreneurship as a viable pathway out of poverty. But what are the most effective methods for teaching business skills to these entrepreneurs? MIT D-Lab's Libby McDonald disseminates research from D-Lab's Practical Impact Alliance working group, highlighting key approaches for transferring entrepreneurial knowledge to BoP business owners, and discussing skillsets that can serve as the primary building blocks for a business-training curriculum.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Fewer Poor People are Saving: What Does That Mean for Microfinance and Mobile Money?
As the world grows richer and the financial inclusion movement steams ahead, savings rates are abysmally low across the globe. In fact, over half of all adults on the planet saved nothing in the last year – neither bank deposits nor cash stuffed in drawers. In the third of a four-part series analyzing the much-discussed 2017 Global Findex, Scott Graham of FINCA International explores the savings habits of individuals worldwide – particularly in the developing world – and the implications for financial services providers.
- Categories
- Finance
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Making the Case for Early-Stage Impact Investing
In many emerging markets, social entrepreneurs are financing their ventures with personal funds and high-interest loans - mainly because it's so tough to grow out of the startup phase without being able to show financial returns. The nonprofit Beyond Capital Fund provides pro bono advisory services to help investee enterprises establish and implement operating procedures and regular impact reporting systems, writes CEO Eva Yazhari. She explains how these formalized structures lend credibility and stability to sustain the businesses and attract potential investors - functions that are often lacking in the impact investing ecosystem.
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- Investing
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Internalizing Innovation: It’s About Creating a Culture, Not a Product
Innovation holds the key to expanding financial health for low- and moderate-income households—but how can organizations foster a culture of innovation, rather than treating it as a one-off event or a process fix? MetLife Foundation and UNCDF are launching two new innovation hubs in China and Malaysia that aim to promote this cultural shift. Krishna Thacker and Jaspreet Singh discuss the program's unique approach.
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- Education, Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Hardware Innovation is … Hard: How These Entrepreneurs Overcame the Challenges
Compared with the creators of app-based products, hardware-focused innovators face a much more difficult and expensive journey, says Villgro CTO Arun Venkatesan. The resources and time required to perfect hardware iterations are larger, the lack of a mature ecosystem is a problem, and the buyer is often distinctly different from the user or beneficiary. Venkatesan profiles four hardware innovators in agriculture and health care, discussing how they worked through these obstacles.
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- Agriculture, Health Care, Investing, Technology
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From Local to Global: The Questions SMEs Should Answer Before Exporting
Whether it helps them survive in a competitive local economy or lets them scale beyond it, foreign market entry can be a vital step for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. But it also represents a major risk for a small business – one that can easily result in failure. Daniel DeValve of the William Davidson Institute highlights three case studies that explore the challenges Philippine SME owners faced in considering a move to a new market – along with the impact their decisions had on their businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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How India’s Digital Payments Revolution Can Advance its Position as a ‘Soft-Power Superpower’
With cultural exports like Bollywood movies, delicious cuisine and yoga, India is already a soft-power powerhouse, argues Tidhar Wald. But with financial inclusion rising from 35 to 80 percent in just six years, and a biometric ID system that reaches 1 billion people, the country could become a soft-power superpower. Wald explores how India can both inspire and learn from other countries in creating an inclusive digital economy.
- Categories
- Finance
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