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Viewpoint: Social Entrepreneurs Are First Responders To the COVID-19 Crisis. This Is Why They Need Support
The Schwab Foundation 2020 Impact Report has demonstrated how its network of 400 social innovators and entrepreneurs has improved the lives of more than 622 million people in over 190 countries, protecting livelihoods, driving movements for social inclusion and environmental sustainability, and providing improved access to health, sanitation, education, and energy.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Tags
- failure, impact investing
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Can Africa Really ‘Build Back Better’? How Financial Inclusion Must Evolve To Enable a COVID-19 Recovery
Sub-Saharan Africa has long been one of the financial inclusion sector’s top success stories. But according to David Ferrand, the former director of FSD Kenya, the overall impact of that newfound financial access has been disappointing. In this Q&A, he discusses the current challenges and future outlook of sub-Saharan Africa’s financial sector – and how financial inclusion players can help the region emerge stronger after COVID-19 subsides.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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The Game-Changing Potential of a Regulatory Sandbox: Why Creating a Safe Space for Digital Innovation Is a Necessity for Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh
While Bangladesh has made notable progress in accelerating financial inclusion, around 50% of Bangladeshis still remain unbanked. As Jakirul Islam at Bank Asia points out, this highlights a need for more technological disruption – and more regulatory innovation. He explores the potential of a “regulatory sandbox” approach, in which the government provides a safe harbor for businesses to test inventive new products, services and business models.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Financial Health and the Coronavirus: Another Failure to Prepare
Even before the coronavirus crisis, global financial health was surprisingly precarious, with many people unprepared to weather a significant financial shock. As Elisabeth Rhyne points out, this issue is becoming painfully clear now that the pandemic is causing mass disruptions in income and employment. She explores the lasting consequences this will have, and calls on policymakers to provide relief now – and to make financial health an urgent priority going forward.
- Categories
- Finance
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My High-Profile Social Enterprise Shut Down, but It Wasn’t a Total Failure
Inspired by Broad Street Ministry‘s work on behalf of our fellow Philadelphians who are the most vulnerable, our local comfort food chain, Federal Donuts, set out to shine a light on the idea that hospitality is a fundamental human need.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- North America
- Tags
- failure
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Surviving the ‘Valley of Death’: A New Funding Database Aims to Help Agtech Companies Avoid Early-Stage Failure
Population growth and climate change are bringing extraordinary challenges to the agriculture sector in emerging markets. But though small- and medium-sized enterprises are essential to addressing these issues, they remain underfunded – particularly in the period before they become profitable (often referred to as the ‘‘Valley of Death’’). Aarno Keijzer at NpM explores these challenges, and presents a free database that NpM has compiled, highlighting funds that can help early-stage agriculture companies bridge this financial gap.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Tags
- agtech, business development, data, failure
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When Failure is Not an Option: Understanding – And Accelerating – the Success of Refugee Entrepreneurs
This World Refugee Day, the global community is experiencing the highest level of displacement on record. Though entrepreneurship can provide a route to livelihood for which resilient, community-oriented refugees are particularly suited, they often struggle to surmount barriers of language and discrimination, on top of the high failure rates that are typical of small businesses. Amy Gillett and Kristin Babbie Kelterborn at the William Davidson Institute share lessons from support programs helping refugees overcome tough odds to economically enrich their host countries.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Viewpoint: Can Impact Investing Avoid the Failures of Microfinance?
The impact investment industry is growing rapidly, a fact that many of us in the field celebrate. But are we scaling the right model?
- Categories
- Investing
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