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Hidden Opportunity: How Investors Can Unlock the Potential of Refugee Entrepreneurs
Globally, almost 70 million people were displaced as of 2017. But though this refugee crisis is serious and growing, a more hopeful narrative is being overlooked, say John Kluge and Tim Docking at the Refugee Investment Network. Refugees are natural entrepreneurs whose businesses can make a major impact on themselves, their families and their communities – an impact that would grow with more investor support. Kluge and Docking discuss a recent RIN report that explores the emerging “refugee investing” movement, and why it represents an exciting field in impact investing.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Young, African, Employed – How A Ugandan Startup Aims to Mobilize the Continent’s Youth
Almost 80 percent of Ugandans are below the age of 30 – and many of them are struggling to generate a reliable livelihood. Hire the Youth is addressing this issue through online and in-person programs advancing youth employment and education, using a hybrid non-profit and for-profit model. Its founder, Ssenkubuge Kenneth, discusses the challenges the startup has faced – and how it has overcome them – as it aims to expand its services into other African countries.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Press release: Mindtree.org Launches Social Inclusion Platform to Democratize Technology for Micro-Entrepreneurs
The purpose of the Mindtree.org digital platforms is to make digital technology and professional services accessible to millions of local entrepreneurs working in the informal economy. These initiatives help to set up profitable micro-businesses, connected communities and networked marketplaces, improving their income and standard of living.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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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.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Are the days of the African unicorn numbered?
Hopes of seeing an African unicorn on the horizon have been floated around for years, but increasingly, investors are changing their focus. The emerging consensus is that Africa needs to forget about “mythical” unicorns, and focus on building more successful local companies.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Authentic Storytelling Can Boost a Social Enterprise’s Development – This Tool Can Help
When promoting their businesses, most social entrepreneurs naturally focus on talking about their successes. But though their instinct is often to minimize or ignore their enterprise's setbacks, this can actually be a mistake, says Barbara Börner, a consultant for social entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations. She explores how telling the stories behind these challenges can raise awareness of a social business among potential investors, customers and other stakeholders – and she shares a free tool that can help entrepreneurs develop more effective storytelling skills.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Pakistan Fights Poverty with A Gig Platform
A website similar to LinkedIn connects offline workers in the South Asian country with potential employers.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- South Asia
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Chopping Block to Starting Block: How OPIC (Now IDFC) is Writing the Next Chapter in U.S. Development Finance
The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) just survived a near death experience. The agency was among the proposed cuts when the Trump administration came into power and began budget negotiations. But with the passage of the BUILD Act, OPIC will transform into the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, with a new budget and a new set of financial tools. We caught up with David Bohigian, Executive Vice President of OPIC, at SOCAP18 to find out what these changes mean for entrepreneurs and others seeking development finance.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing
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