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Do Inclusive Business Models Need a ‘Safe Space’ to Survive Within Multinational Companies?
Though many are skeptical when multinational corporations proclaim devotion to social impact, Tom Harrison of Business Innovation Facility sees numerous success stories. But these approaches raise an interesting question: Should inclusive initiatives within a corporation be treated the same as any other innovation? Or does their social impact focus justify – and perhaps require – a more lenient approach? He explores both sides of the issue in this thought-provoking post.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Beyond ‘Take-Make-Waste’ Supply Chains: MIT Solve Seeks Circular Economy Solutions
Most of the products we use today — clothing, furniture, electronics and more — come from “take-make-waste” linear supply chains. These systems result in 2 billion tons of solid waste each year, produce major carbon emissions, and often involve toxic working conditions. MIT Solve is seeking new models through its Circular Economy Challenge, which will give $10,000 grants to the eight most promising solutions - the application deadline is July 1.
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- Entrepreneurship, Environment
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Pulling Back the Curtain on a Social Enterprise Merger: Practicalities and Surprises as Two Companies Become One
When Pollinate Energy began executing its recent merger with a former competitor, Empower Generation, some stakeholders doubted they would succeed. But as its CEO Alexie Seller describes, though the two companies were based in different countries, their models and missions were similar. Even so, they faced multiple challenges – and more than a few surprises – in the merger process. In this revealing post, Seller explores what has worked, and what hasn’t, as the companies have combined.
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- Energy
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Turning Saris into Stainless Steel: How the Companies of the Future Can Learn from Business Models of the Past
In India in the 1970s, tens of thousands of itinerant street vendors carried stainless steel kitchenware products from door to door, bartering them for saris and other old clothes in a complex, multi-tiered supply chain. According to Prashant Yadav at Harvard Medical School, these vendors’ business model – like others from past decades – holds valuable lessons for modern enterprises working in challenging markets. He shares some of these insights – and encourages others to do likewise – in this fascinating article.
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- Entrepreneurship
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The Advantages of Boots on the Ground: Is it Really Possible to Digitize the Last Mile in Smallholder Agriculture?
Mobile connections, big data and technologies like artificial intelligence are creating new opportunities to serve smallholder farmers with financial and other services. But since many farmers still lack reliable internet and mobile connectivity, businesses serving these customers must still leverage both physical and digital tools, says Hamilton McNutt at Strategic Impact Advisors. He explores the different ways some businesses are combining digital innovations with an on-the-ground presence to solve the challenges of last-mile access.
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- Agriculture, Technology
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Power Play: Can Energy Access Entrepreneurs Survive the Relentless March of Grid Electricity in India?
Despite the dubious claims from the Modi administration that India has electrified every village in the country, the march to extend grid infrastructure continues unabated. So where does that leave energy access enterprises? Ananth Aravamudan, Renewable Energy lead at Villgro, explores how these firms can find creative new ways to stay relevant.
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- Energy, Entrepreneurship
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Boosting the Social Impact of Food Tourism: The Keys to a Collaborative Model
Héctor Gerardo Ibarra talks about social entrepreneurship a lot – sometimes to children as young as second grade. He helps them understand the concept by identifying a specific local problem and a solution involving something they already like doing. The same can be said of Ruta Origen, a social enterprise he co-founded to confront unfair payment of Mexican producers, paired with a solution that involves plenty of traveling and eating. In this post, Gerardo Ibarra details a collaborative impact model that is similarly straightforward, but by no means easy.
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- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Environment
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Why Do Low-income Women Entrepreneurs Fail? New Research Provides Some Answers
Everybody loves a business success story, so research on entrepreneurship tends to focus on the Facebooks and Ubers of the world. But in reality, new ventures are more likely to fail than to succeed, and there's a dearth of research on the reasons why – particularly when the entrepreneurs are women in emerging markets. The Failure Institute joined with Pro Mujer to study the failures of hundreds of small businesses run by low-income women in Mexico. Leticia Gasca of the Failure Institute explores the four main causes of failure these women faced.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment
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