-
Funding Education With Impact: How We Can Address Student, Market Needs in India
Although education is one of the most funded causes among private social funders in India, including about US $45 million in impact investment per annum over 2014-2017, this has translated into near-universal access to education at primary school level but not in other education segments. Asian Venture Philanthropy Network's Martina Mettgenberg-Lemiere and Anh Nguyen propose some market-based strategies.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment, Investing
-
Perspective: The Mis-Measure of Development
Today’s global development agenda is trying to be all things to all people. The Millennium Development Goals worked because they were few in number and sharply focused. By contrast, the MDGs' successor, the Sustainable Development Goals, comprise an eye-popping 169 targets, which means there is no focus at all.
-
The Financial Lives of Struggling Americans: The Financial Diaries and The Unbanking of America
Elisabeth Rhyne of the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion reviews two new books that take a look Americans' increasingly precarious financial lives. Both books examine America's top economic challenge – the crumbling of the economic foundation for many working-class and middle-class families – and they do so through the lens of financial services, an unusual but revealing perspective, Rhyne writes.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Bitcoin’s rise in African markets is driven by an old Russian ponzi scheme
Cryptocurrency experts have touted the potential for their tech to transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations: refugees, the unbanked, those living on less than a dollar a day. Yet the story of Bitcoin’s social impact is more complicated than the headlines portray.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Beyond Microcredit: Why Tackling Poverty Requires More Than a Loan
It's clear that microcredit is not enough to end poverty, say Gary Carrier and Harrison Pharamond of MCE Social Capital. But this does not stop MCE from investing in microfinance institutions. Instead, they maximize the impact of these investments by supporting MFIs in offering “credit-plus services” - additional services that address poverty holistically.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
-
Giving Capitalism a Social Conscience
Yunus has recently written a new book, “A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions,” in which he argues that capitalism is in crisis and remains moored in a flawed conception of human motivation. He proposes a far more robust role in the economy for “social businesses,” which he defines as “non-dividend” companies “dedicated to solving human problems.”
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Glasses for the Masses: Because It’s Easier to Navigate a Path out of Poverty When You Can See
On this World Sight Day, VisionSpring President Ella R. Gudwin writes that though eyeglasses are a cost-effective poverty reduction tool, 2.5 billion people do not have the eyeglasses they need to earn and learn. Gudwin announces a new partnership with Target and Williams-Sonoma Inc. that aims to improve workers' vision on a grand scale to bridge the visual divide.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise
-
Three Key Insights from GIIN Report on the Power of Capacity Building in Impact Investing
Capacity-building support, also known as technical assistance, is a vital tool used by many investors to complement their investments and expand and deepen their impact. When applied well, capacity building improves investor competitiveness, enhances business performance of investees, expands impact for beneficiaries and strengthens markets, writes Abhilash Mudaliar of GIIN.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.