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When Failure is Hard to Recognize: Facing Hard Truths about Microfinance
After decades of faith in the ability of tiny loans to transform people’s lives, quantitative research has revealed that microfinance rarely lives up to the hype. But in spite of their lackluster impact, microfinance projects have persisted – the question is, why? After seven years of observing various actors throughout the microfinance value chain, Erin Beck, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon, has an answer. She discusses how policymakers, MFI leaders, employees and even customers contribute to microfinance’s persistence.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Is India’s Demonetization a Failure?
Data released by the Reserve Bank of India indicates that demonetization has failed to flush out black money.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- failure
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Why Do Social Enterprises Fail? New Research Reveals Three Reasons (And Some Surprises)
In a recent study by the Failure Institute – the research arm of F*ckUp Nights, a global movement that aims to break the stigma around business failure – social entrepreneurs in Mexico gave three primary reasons why their businesses failed: a lack of resources and infrastructure; insufficient public policy support; and a dysfunctional board of directors. F*ckUp Nights' director discusses these and other findings.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Opinion: India’s demonetisation drive has boosted banks and start-ups, but it’s still a failure
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of ₹500 (US$7.40) and ₹1,000 (US$15) banknotes from circulation in November 2016, the government said its demonetisation drive would curb India’s shadow economy and suppress the use of illicit and counterfeit cash in the economy.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- failure
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Learning From Failure: Lessons From Nigeria About Integrating Technology Into Rural Health Systems
A study showed that most people living in a Nigerian territory lacked access to health care, leading to a radical eHealth pilot project. That pilot failed, but lessons learned ultimately led to a stronger and more sustainable eHealth framework in Nigeria and can help others who hope to integrate technology into health systems, especially in limited-resource settings.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- data, failure, rural development
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What We’ve Got Here is a Failure to Communicate: Three Ways to Bridge the Academic/Practitioner Gap
Evidence-based policymaking requires a collaborative relationship between the worlds of research, policy and practice. But productive three-way communication between these actors is difficult, as vague prejudices can limit each side's ability to listen and learn. As every failure to communicate is a missed opportunity, Innovations for Poverty Action explores some ways to improve learning and communication.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
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Calling All Failures: Failing is a Big Part of Social Entrepreneurship. F*ckUp Nights Wants You to Talk About It
Though most new companies shut down, entrepreneurs rarely talk about their failures. This is counterproductive, especially in challenging sectors like social enterprise. That’s why F*ckUp Nights is building a movement to discuss and research business failure. This exclusive series with NextBillion will feature some of their top failure stories from would-be social entrepreneurs. And if your social business has failed, you’re welcome to add your story.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
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How a Social Entrepreneur Overcame His ‘Arrogant Failure’ and Won Kudos From Oprah
Lucky Iron Fish, a fast-growing social enterprise in Guelph, Ontario, wants to vanquish iron deficiency, a condition affects almost 3.5 billion people around the world.
- Categories
- Health Care