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It’s That Time Again – Here’s Your Official SOCAP19 Conference Preview
October is in full swing, and that means it’s time for SOCAP – the 12th annual gathering of investors, entrepreneurs and others helping to drive mission-focused business. It all happens next week, when SOCAP19 will host over 500 speakers and hold more than 150 breakout sessions at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco. Team NextBillion will be there too - here's what to expect.
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- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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In Remembrance of Pro-Poor Business Pioneer Paul Polak: 1933-2019
Paul Polak, a pioneer of pro-poor technologies and social impact-focused business, passed away peacefully over the weekend, surrounded by his family. A true "serial entrepreneur" since long before that term became popular, Polak founded numerous organizations and businesses aimed at alleviating poverty – and he served as a source of wisdom, inspiration and humor for the social business sector for decades. He will be greatly missed.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Social Enterprises Outperform Traditional Business, Says New Research
The new report demonstrates the strength of social businesses, just as Social Enterprise UK launched a celebrity-backed campaign to get consumers supporting brands with purpose.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Charting the Next Decade in the Global Small and Growing Business Sector: A Q&A with ANDE Executive Director Randall Kempner
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, a membership organization of investment groups, NGOs and business ecosystem advocates, recently marked its 10th anniversary. As it approaches a second decade moving the global small and growing business sector forward, ANDE announced a new strategy that focuses on gender, the environment and job creation. We spoke with Executive Director Randall Kempner about what the future holds for ANDE and the global SGB sector.
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- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Impact Assessment, Investing
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Avoiding Impact Washing, Hero Worship and Other Ethical Marketing Pitfalls: A Q&A with Justin Belleme
How should impact-focused businesses market what they do – without succumbing to pitfalls such as impact washing or hero worship? We posed that question to Justin Belleme, the director of strategy at JB Media Group. As one of the few marketing agencies with a B Corp certification, JB Media works with multiple impact-focused businesses and organizations, including the SOCAP conference. In this Q&A, Belleme explores how well-intentioned impact entrepreneurs and their communications teams can keep their marketing in line with their missions.
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- Entrepreneurship, NextBillion Originals, Technology
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Achieving Women 2019: Dr. Iman Bibars, Regional Director, Ashoka Arab World
Since launching Ashoka Arab World in 2003 in Egypt, Bibars has expanded the organization's operations to 11 countries across the MENA region.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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The Sales Mistakes That Are Holding Back Africa’s Solar Enterprises – And How to Fix Them
Selling solar energy products is challenging, so you'd expect solar enterprises to focus on making their sales departments as effective as possible. But in fact, as Whitten & Roy Partnership CEO Scott Roy points out, most solar companies are underemphasizing sales, harming not only their businesses but the broader industry's growth. He shares essential tips for how they can create truly effective sales teams.
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- Energy, Entrepreneurship
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Understanding the Other Side of the Table: Closing the Gap between Social Entrepreneurs and Impact Investors
In over a decade working in social impact, Ayla Schlosser, the former CEO of Resonate, increasingly realized that she had a lopsided view of funders. In fact, she says, both entrepreneurs and investors tend to sit on one side of the table or the other, which can lead to mutual blind spots and inefficiencies. She shares insights from a Miller Center research project, in which she interviewed 42 investors, entrepreneurs and others to identify best practices and help bridge this information gap.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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