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‘The Dumbest Waste of Time Ever’: How the Development Sector is Failing MSMEs
Low-income business owners often keep poor records and don't always keep close tabs on their profits versus expenses – a side effect of by-necessity entrepreneurship. Global development organizations naturally want to help - yet too many programs offer skills development as one-off training. According to business development consultant Donna Rosa, helping entrepreneurs create business plans only to abandon them to fend for themselves is "the dumbest waste of time ever." She explains why in this thought-provoking post.
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- Agriculture, Investing
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Better Data for Better Products: New Online Resource Aims to Close the $200 Billion Smallholder Finance Gap
The US $200 billion gap in farmer finance is a tremendous opportunity – but it's one that financial service providers are missing, due to the lack of transparent and reliable data. That's why One Acre Fund and MIX, with support from the Mastercard Foundation's RAF Learning Lab, launched the Smallholder Finance Product Explorer. A May 8 webinar will show industry actors how to use some of these new online tools to reach the 450 million smallholders in need of financing.
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- Agriculture, Investing
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Beyond ‘Evil Capitalists vs. Righteous Social Workers’: Innovating Solutions with Integrative Thinking
After working in Silicon Valley and Wall Street – in industries famous for their single-minded pursuit of profit – Alice Mann looked forward to making an impact in the social sector. But she encountered organizations that lacked the funding to be effective on a large scale – and that shared a blind spot when it came to the value of financial sustainability. The author of "Future First," Mann shares three examples of social sector leaders who have shifted their thinking to address global problems in profitable ways.
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- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Omidyar Network Makes Six New Investments that Address the Needs of the “Next Half Billion”
“Omidyar Network is looking to support early-stage businesses with the potential of creating access to jobs, education, healthcare, transportation, financial services, and government services for the NHB,” said Roopa Kudva, Omidyar Network partner and managing director, India.
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- Investing
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From New York to Madagascar: Why I Moved My Fintech Startup to Africa
“Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” That Mike Tyson quote rang true for Sidharth Garg, who was forced to go back to the drawing board after his Manhattan-based fintech startup's chatbot failed to engage customers. But that setback soon became an opportunity: Garg explains how shifting focus from the U.S. to Madagascar set the company on a new path to growth, in the latest post in NextBillion's "Course Correction in Social Enterprise" series.
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- Finance, Social Enterprise
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Portable, Reliable and Safe: Billions Need Anaesthesia – Partnerships Can Deliver It
When global crises rivet the world’s attention to a conflict or a disaster-struck region, people take notice and respond. But they tend to ignore the fact that 5 billion of the 7 billion people in the world lack access to basic surgery – and the safe anesthesia care necessary to facilitate it. Andrea Charters of Diamedica talks about the life-saving work doctors are able to perform using the company’s portable anesthesia machine – and the potential to cure the everyday disaster of inequality in global health care.
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- Health Care, Technology
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Finding Emerging Markets Stocks With Social Consciences
There are now 10 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that invest in stocks in emerging markets while making environmental, social and governance performance an explicit part of their mission, according to Morningstar.
- Categories
- Investing
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Bending the Arc of Humanity – Effective Development of Exponential Technologies to Serve Mankind
Exponential technologies such as big data, the internet of things and artificial intelligence can transform lives in poor countries. But Akhtar Badshah – who led Microsoft’s philanthropic efforts for 10 years – highlights some risks alongside that potential. The main question, he says, is how to bridge the gap between those who quickly benefit from these technologies, and those who are left behind.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology