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There is Such a Thing as Too Much, Too Fast: Avoiding ‘Mismatched Expectations’ in Off-Grid Energy Investing
A recent post by impact investing firm Ceniarth on the "Energy Access Hype Cycle" has generated considerable discussion, prompting critical responses from fellow impact investors Persistent Energy Capital and the off-grid lighting trade organization GOGLA. With this post, writers at the IFC join the discussion, analyzing the effect of rapid growth rates, high levels of consumer financing and operational efficiency on the liquidity of solar home system providers.
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- Energy, Investing, Technology
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Six Promising Approaches for Scaling Health Care in Low-Resource Settings
Many health care interventions in low-resource settings are able to achieve initial impact, but the challenges are so great that few models have the potential to scale. However, Nakul Goswami, associate vice president of Intellecap Innovation Labs, has identified a few innovators showing promise. He explores why they work, and what other health care providers serving vulnerable communities can learn from their models.
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- Health Care
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Agents Beat Mobile? Intriguing Research from MIX on Alternative Delivery Channels in Banking
Many financial service providers look to technology to enable new means of distribution and achieve universal access, but agent banking remains the most commonly deployed alternative delivery channel today – and arguably the most effective. To achieve scale, the authors say, providers should analyze each channel and develop the right strategies for their desired business and social outcomes. A webinar set for Thursday is designed to help.
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- Uncategorized
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Got a Great Idea? Don’t Start Your Own Nonprofit: A Q&A with Dr. Jane Aronson
Dr. Jane Aronson, a pediatrician and president and CEO of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, will deliver a keynote address, "Scaling an Idea: Innovation at its Best," at Unite for Sight's Global Health & Innovation Conference this weekend at Yale University. In this Q&A, she shares some valuable lessons for nonprofits and the young people who hope to join (or start) them, including where NGOs typically go wrong and the problem of falling in love with your own great idea.
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- Health Care
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With New Partner, Wello Rolling Down ‘the Fastest Path to Scale’
Social enterprise Wello today announced it will license sales and manufacturing of its main product, the WaterWheel, to Mumbai-based Nilkamal Limited in India and Sri Lanka. The publicly traded Nilkamal is one of Asia's manufacturers and sellers of injection mold plastic furniture and other plastic home goods. We hear from Cynthia Koenig, founder and CEO of Wello, about what the deal means not only for the for-profit company, but also for other social enterprises facing the perennial struggle of scaling their products.
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- Entrepreneurship, Environment, NextBillion Originals
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From Beneficiary to Customer: 40K Transitions from School-building Charity to Edtech Social Enterprise
It took five years for 40K to build its first school in India. Over that time, the organization learned a lot about the key barriers that were preventing quality education from proliferating in rural areas. Over the next two years, 40K transformed from a school-building charity to an edtech social enterprise. Clary Castrission, founder and CEO, explains why, and how the transition is progressing.
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- Education, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Omidyar Network invests $2.9M in new Latin American Alliance for Civic Technology to accelerate and scale innovation across the region
Alliance to be run by Fundación Avina and will be the next iteration of the Accelerator Fund for Civic Innovation - the key funder of civic tech innovation in Latin America.
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- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
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Global Health Interventions Need to Hit the Ground Running. Here’s Some Pre-Race Help.
A recent white paper describes a “six-month window” in which global health interventions need to take shape, or else most of them are doomed. To help get things right from the start, and ultimately achieve scale, USAID’s Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact recently published “Ready, Set, Launch: A Country-Level Launch Planning Guide for Global Health Innovations.”
- Categories
- Health Care
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