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Why Africa’s Energy Sector Needs Transparency: A Q&A with the Head of KawiSafi Ventures, Acumen’s for-Profit Energy Fund
While investing patient capital into for-profit firms has been Acumen’s MO for decades now, the organization itself has remained a non-profit. But in April, Acumen announced that it was doing something it hadn't done before: creating a commercial investment fund. Called KawiSafi Ventures, the for-profit fund has lined up $70 million to boost clean energy firms – and therefore clean energy access – in East Africa. Managing Director Amar Inamdar explores the fund's focus on scalable businesses, and why debt and equity need to start playing nice with one another in the sector.
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From Local to Global: The Questions SMEs Should Answer Before Exporting
Whether it helps them survive in a competitive local economy or lets them scale beyond it, foreign market entry can be a vital step for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. But it also represents a major risk for a small business – one that can easily result in failure. Daniel DeValve of the William Davidson Institute highlights three case studies that explore the challenges Philippine SME owners faced in considering a move to a new market – along with the impact their decisions had on their businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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‘The Dumbest Waste of Time Ever’: How the Development Sector is Failing MSMEs
Low-income business owners often keep poor records and don't always keep close tabs on their profits versus expenses – a side effect of by-necessity entrepreneurship. Global development organizations naturally want to help - yet too many programs offer skills development as one-off training. According to business development consultant Donna Rosa, helping entrepreneurs create business plans only to abandon them to fend for themselves is "the dumbest waste of time ever." She explains why in this thought-provoking post.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, Investing
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The ‘Start Small, Stay Small’ Dilemma: How Nonprofit/Private Partnerships Can Boost Women-Owned Businesses
Women-owned businesses tend to start small and stay small, in part due to challenges accessing credit. They're also more likely to be discouraged from applying for financing for fear of being declined. Gina Harman, CEO of Accion's U.S. Network, and Andrea Jung, CEO of Grameen America, explain how their organizations are serving these entrepreneurs – and highlight some important ways this work can be expanded.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Something Doesn’t Add Up: Improving Basic Math Skills Among Microentrepreneurs in Rural India
Running any business requires a basic knowledge of arithmetic. Entrepreneurs need to calculate change due on a sale, profits and loss, commissions on product sales, and interest rates on loans. If they can't, their business will likely struggle. As part of a study to identify whether basic math skills contribute to entrepreneurial success in rural India, Madura Microfinance assessed the numerical capabilities of microentrepreneurs. The results were surprising – and somewhat alarming.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
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ASEAN highlights micro enterprises to address poverty
Despite a soaring economic trajectory, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is also looking to keep their feet on the ground — particularly through micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Members of both the private and public sectors gathered on Friday to discuss how best to develop MSMEs during the ASEAN Prosperity for All Summit at City of Dreams, Manila.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- SME
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Accion Venture Lab Marks Second Successful Exit, Driving Social and Financial Impact from Investment in Clip
Accion Venture Lab, the seed-stage investment initiative of financial inclusion leader Accion, announced today that it has marked its second successful exit, further demonstrating the potential for early stage investments to generate social and financial returns. Venture Lab has sold its stake in Clip, a Palo Alto and Mexico City-based company that provides cost-effective and efficient digital payment solutions to the often financially underserved segment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Mexico.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- impact investing, SME, SME finance
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World Bank Invests in Myanmar’s Financial Inclusion, $100M in Credit
The World Bank established the Financial Sector Development Project to support Myanmar’s SMEs — the latest sign of progress in the country’s economy.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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