Creating Sustainable Business through Social Intrapreneurism
The world needs more change-makers: men and women who don’t just see things as they are, but who imagine things as they might be – and do something about it! This last few weeks, it felt as though another category of change-maker is starting to get real traction: the social intrapreneur. Social Intrapreneurs are people […]
Reshaping the business of social change
My name is Monique Villa and I run an international, award-winning organization in rapid expansion. My mission is to create value. My motto is global impact. I am CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the corporate charity of the world’s leading source of news and information. I am a business woman working in philanthropy. To […]
From good to great – how to scale up successful programmes
One of the challenges in the international development sector relates to what is sometimes described as “pilot paralysis”. If that’s an unfair description of the fact that many successful development programmes seem to get stuck at a relatively small scale, then perhaps we can agree it’s a cause for concern that not enough impactful programmes […]
Why Charity Alone isn't the Answer to End Poverty
Over the last two decades “social entrepreneurship” has emerged as a widespread phenomenon in development work. This term is not a mere buzz word or development jargon. It has recently become a strategic and a conscious shift away from the image of the poor as passive individuals waiting for handouts, towards a perception of the […]
Why Charity Alone isn’t the Answer to End Poverty
Over the last two decades “social entrepreneurship” has emerged as a widespread phenomenon in development work. This term is not a mere buzz word or development jargon. It has recently become a strategic and a conscious shift away from the image of the poor as passive individuals waiting for handouts, towards a perception of the […]
Creating Sustainable Business Through Social Intrapraneurism
Of course it’s not all plain sailing and driving change bottom up, inside out, is tiring and often frustrating. The big disadvantage which intrapreneurs have over entrepreneurs is having to deal with the corporate immune system – the cultural anti-bodies which the corporate will unleash in the form of risk management processes, bureaucracy, short term […]
Ian Lobo: From good to great – how to scale up successful programmes
One of the challenges in the international development sector relates to what is sometimes described as “pilot paralysis”. If that’s an unfair description of the fact that many successful development programmes seem to get stuck at a relatively small scale, then perhaps we can agree it’s a cause for concern that not enough impactful programmes […]
Getting into International Development
The International Development sector is notoriously hard to get into, especially for those like myself who are mid-career and have no experience outside the commercial world. If you are interested in getting into the sector, but not sure how to go about it, here’s how I did it. Where it all started Like many people, […]
Announcing the Winners of the NextBillion Case Writing Competition
In October 2012, the IFC lent Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) $100 million to finance small and micro enterprises, including women entrepreneurs. The financing, which was six times the amount IFC provided to BTPN in 2009, marked a significant milestone for the Indonesian bank. But just a few years earlier, BTPN President Jerry Ng […]
Investing in Latin America’s Water and Sanitation Solutions
In recent years, rattling off the stats underpinning the problem of water and sanitation solutions has thankfully become more common. Awareness is on the rise. But that doesn’t change the fact that an estimated 2.5 billion people – 37 percent of the world’s population – face the health risks associated with deficient or absent sanitation […]
Go BIG with Your Social Impact Career
Next week, I am speaking at Emory University in Atlanta (and grabbing a hot dog at The Varsity). Each year, I teach at the UC Berkeley Blum Center for Developing Economies. Without fail, students ask me how and where to apply their talents, knowledge and passion to build a world of social and economic justice. […]
Living Goods – the “Avon of pro-poor products”
Photo credit: Esther Havens By Susannah Hares, Head of Innovation, ARK International Tim Harford, in his quite brilliant book Adapt, said: “Few company bosses would care to admit it, but the market fumbles its way to success, as successful ideas take off and unsuccessful ones die. When we see the survivors of this process – […]
Toward an Ecosystem for Early-Stage Incubation of Social Enterprises in East Africa
This past December, 55 participants gathered in Nairobi for a workshop on early-stage incubation of social enterprises in East Africa. The workshop was hosted by ANDE, CARE, The Rockefeller Foundation, USAID and the Acumen Fund and facilitated by Open Capital Advisors. The workshop was designed to be a forum that would allow participants to develop […]
Business Model Innovation for Bottom of the Pyramid
By Julia Guren, Impact Lab On December 6th, Impact Lab and LAB Open Innovation came together with the support of Business Fight Poverty to present a discussion on the challenges and opportunities faced by social entrepreneurs whose work is geared at the Bottom of the Pyramid (‘BoP’). The event brought together a panel of voices […]
Social Impact Bonds Help Investors Bridge Philanthropy and Business Goals
Long before doctor and entrepreneur Paul Polak began trying to revolutionize social investing — before he could even drive a car — he was planting the seeds for a movement he hopes will change the way some people do business. It was 1939, and Polak’s father was making a good living as a peasant farmer […]
SolarAid's 'SunnyMoney' becomes the biggest seller of solar lights in Africa
As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid‘s ambitious social enterprise, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years’ work […]
SolarAid’s ‘SunnyMoney’ becomes the biggest seller of solar lights in Africa
As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid‘s ambitious social enterprise, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years’ work […]
Paul Polak: Achieving Success at the BoP
Question: If you build a better mousetrap will the world beat a path to your door? Answer: Without superb marketing and distribution nobody beats a path to your door. In my work with a multitude of affordable technologies over the past 30 years, one key feature has become abundantly clear: If you have met the […]
Top Resources of 2012
Whether you seek practical tools for entrepreneurs, or an overview of how inclusive businesses are grappling towards scale, there has been plenty for everyone in the highlights of 2012. On the Practitioner Hub on Inclusive Business we feature an Editor’s Choice every month. I have spent an enjoyable morning going back through the highlights of […]
My top picks of 2012
Whether you seek practical tools for entrepreneurs, or an overview of how inclusive businesses are grappling towards scale, there has been plenty for everyone in the highlights of 2012. On the Practitioner Hub on Inclusive Business we feature an Editor’s Choice every month. I have spent an enjoyable morning going back through the highlights of […]