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The Next Million: Grameen Shakti – an innovative model for rural energy business
A small group of people began experimenting how to bring solar electricity to rural Bangladesh and in 1996 started its first rural renewable energy service company – Grameen Shakti – which literally translates to rural energy. The company installed 20 solar systems by the end of 1996, 2,800 systems after a decade of growth, and on Nov. 30, 2012 – 16 years after its launch – installed a total of 1 million solar systems in village homes, schools, clinics and businesses.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- renewable energy, scale, solar
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The Need to Scale: Social Enterprises and Community Health
“Community health workers: Now that is a profession that must be compensated.”
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- scale
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Advancing Impact Investing Platforms… Promise and Peril!: We can’t always assume all investment strategies must scale
Impact Investing is not a single hammer looking for all the nails in the world—it is a diverse and dynamic approach to creating innovative applications of capital in appropriate ways to maximize potential impact. While the promise of investment platforms is, uh, promising, it is important we not start our discussion with the assumption that all investment strategies must scale!
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- impact investing, scale
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Poor Infrastructure may hinder gains of mobile money market
Nigeria's mobile money market is worth $7.2 billion according to Accenture, however the prevalence of poor infrastructure is hindering its takeoff.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- scale
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Danone plans national launch for its yoghurts next year
MUMBAI: French dairy major Danone today said its new business unit here which is dedicated for developing products for the masses, will be rolled out to other cities by next year.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Scaling from Small to Large: Endeavor Insight’s Research Reveals How Entrepreneurs are Integral to Solving the Job Crisis
NEW YORK, Sep 25, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Entrepreneurship is increasingly viewed as a key solution to chronic unemployment, but when it comes to job creation, not all entrepreneurs are equal. According to a new report and interactive online tool released by Endeavor Insight, high-growth small and medium size enterprises that scale into large businesses have significant potential to drive sustained job creation and employment, especially in emerging markets. Endeavor Insight partnered with Omidyar Network and Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) to commission and release the report.
- Tags
- employment, research, scale
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Acumen Fund and Dow Partner to Scale Social Enterprises in East and West Africa
Commitment announced at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting brings funding and technical expertise to entrepreneurs providing low-income consumers with energy, agricultural inputs, water and sanitation
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- scale
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Is Your Social Venture Really Worth Scaling?
Although scaling is the holy grail for most social entrepreneurs, not everyone should attempt it. In a previous post, I outlined the key capabilities I've found to be present in the social ventures that are able to reach sizeable impact (which can be remembered with the acronym SCALERS—they are Staffing, Communicating, Alliance-Building, Lobbying, Earnings-Generation, Replicating, and Stimulating Market Forces). Before a social entrepreneur gets to work building those capabilities, however, it makes sense to ask the question: Is this venture really ready to scale?
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- scale