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Resolving the Core Tension of Impact-Focused Fintech: A Viable Model for Reaching Rural Women with Digital Financial Services
Reaching last-mile communities is challenging for a business that also has to attend to its own bottom line. Claudia Sosa Lazo at IDEO.org discusses a partnership between IDEO.org, BRAC, bKash and the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics that is seeking profitable ways to bring digital financial services to rural women in Bangladesh. She explains how the partnership provides a model for other businesses and NGOs that hope to unlock both profit and social impact, while bringing beneficial products to the world’s most excluded communities.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Technology
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Press Release: Knowledge Institute Helps Solve World Problems with Data Analytics
Knowledge Institute will work with NGOs, governments and non-profit organizations to help tackle global problems such as climate change, hunger, poverty, deforestation and the extinction of flora and fauna using data and analytics.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- data, environment, humanitarian aid, NGOs, nonprofits, SDGs, social impact, technology
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Rethinking Community Connectivity: As the Pandemic Wears On, NGOs Turn to Technology for Information Dissemination and Behaviour Change
Behavior change and information dissemination initiatives face many challenges in emerging economies, and COVID-19 has made their work even more difficult. But according to Abhishek Sharma at Glific, these efforts remain essential – whether they're focused on raising awareness of government programs or sharing accurate information about the pandemic. He explores how a growing movement of NGOs, governments and social enterprises are turning to digital communications channels to reach marginalized communities, and discusses Glific's WhatsApp-based approach.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
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Facebook to Provide Grants to Four Women-Led NGOs
Facebook will provide grants to four early-stage women-led NGOs through Facebook Pragati that will focus on boosting women entrepreneurship through the adoption of digital skills and tools.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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2020 MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTICLE CANDIDATE: Businesses Behaving Badly: The Troubling Parallels Between Microfinance and Facebook
Chuck Waterfield left microfinance five years ago, after working in the sector for three decades. He stopped using Facebook three years ago, after using the platform for about 10 years. As he explains, he left them both for a similar reason: Their business models have grown increasingly problematic over time – and without external intervention, things are likely to get worse.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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At a Ugandan Factory, Workers Prove That ‘Periods Don’t Pause for Pandemics’
Following a Ugandan government directive, the team at AFRIpads faced a tough decision: shut down and sell off stocks, or transform the factory into a co-living space to remain in operation.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Pandemic Response Based on Listening: Leveraging Customer Interviews to Understand COVID-19’s Impact in the Developing World
As COVID-19 spread around the world early this year, there was a flurry of data about its impact. But nearly all of it was gathered via online surveys, which omitted the 50% of the global population that lacks internet access. 60 Decibels responded by launching phone surveys with over 10,000 people in 13 developing countries to discuss their challenges and unmet needs. Kat Harrison discusses what they found.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Impact Assessment
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Review of Microfinance Studies Finds Many Flaws, No Conclusions
What do we know about microfinance—often touted as the solution for the economic woes of developing countries? Practically nothing, say researchers from UConn's Department of Agricultural and Resources and Economics.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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