A Unique Opportunity to Reach the Rural BoP
The significance of harvest time for farmers is not going to shock many but less obvious, perhaps, is its importance for those trying to reach the rural BOP. Through its social enterprise, SunnyMoney, SolarAid has now reached over 3 million people with pico (<10 watt) solar lights, selling over 670,000 in East Africa and eradicating […]
Project Inspire: MasterCard & UN Women Support Youth Involvement in Women Empowerment Projects
This year marks the third year since we launched Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World – a digital initiative dedicated to inspiring young people to build sustainable projects that will benefit disadvantaged women and girls in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa – together with the Singapore Committee for UN Women. Aimed at […]
Project Inspire: MasterCard & UN Women Support Youth Involvement in Women Empowerment Projects
This year marks the third year since we launched Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World – a digital initiative dedicated to inspiring young people to build sustainable projects that will benefit disadvantaged women and girls in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa – together with the Singapore Committee for UN Women. Aimed at […]
Impact Investment and Beyond – Mapping Support For Social Enterprises
There is a lot of excitement about the potential of social enterprise to deliver innovative solutions to development problems. There also is a lot of interest from a wide range of actors – donors, commercial banks, NGOs and business schools – to understand, finance and provide support to social enterprises. For example, impact investors have […]
3 Lessons Food Companies Can Learn From Social Entrepreneurs
One panel discussion at Ashoka’s recent Globalizer Summit in Frankfurt, Germany, “Fighting the ‘Hidden Hunger,” brought together stakeholders from various sectors, including funding agencies, agri-businesses, think tanks, nutrition organizations, and social entrepreneurs who were interested in growing a global nutrient economy. Reflecting these diverse backgrounds, the panel included Prof. Dr. Konrad Biesalski, author of the […]
Technology Boosting Economic Opportunity in Rural Ghana
Almost half of the world’s people live on less than $2.50 a day. In my country, Ghana, nearly 30 percent of the population and almost 60 percent of those under 25 survive below this grim poverty line—facing stark daily choices between spending on food, healthcare, education and shelter. In a world where the wealthiest one […]
Mixing Business and Social- What Really is a Social Enterprise?
Of course we all know what a ‘social enterprise’ (SE) is in a developing country. It’s obvious, surely? It’s, um, a business that does good things for people, and also makes money. Don’t nit-pick! This is all about dynamism, creativity and innovation. Well, OK, point taken. But nagging doubts remain. What sorts of good things? […]
Innovation Leaders: 3 Questions for Non-profit & For-profit Innovation Leaders
I returned home to Boston after a 10 day conference “intensive” – the Council on Foundations in Chicago, the World Healthcare Congress in Washington, D.C. and the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford – looking forward to a Patriot’s Day holiday to recover and enjoy a beloved Boston tradition, the Marathon. Of course, […]
Innovation Leaders: 3 Questions for Non-profit & For-profit Innovation Leaders
I returned home to Boston after a 10 day conference “intensive” – the Council on Foundations in Chicago, the World Healthcare Congress in Washington, D.C. and the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford – looking forward to a Patriot’s Day holiday to recover and enjoy a beloved Boston tradition, the Marathon. Of course, […]
Mixing Business and Social: What Really is a Social Enterprise?
Of course we all know what a ‘social enterprise’ (SE) is in a developing country. It’s obvious, surely? It’s, um, a business that does good things for people, and also makes money. Don’t nit-pick! This is all about dynamism, creativity and innovation. Well, OK, point taken. But nagging doubts remain. What sorts of good things? […]
Functional Impact Investing Ecosystems Reduce Risk
Impact investors are typically seen as part of the supportive ecosystem inclusive businesses require to start, succeed and go to scale. The second Frankfurt Round Table on Social Finance on June 4, 2013, in Frankfurt, made it clear that impact investors themselves need a supportive ecosystem to reduce costs and risks of investments. The round […]
The Niger Delta Partnership Initiative: Corporate Social Enterprise in Action
All too often corporate social responsibility has, over the years, meant occasional grants and handouts to people in need, with little regard to achieving sustainable development in the long run. Things are changing. As governments struggle with tight budgets, and business leaders discover the dangers of operating in volatile regions of the world where residents […]
Social Impact Investing And The G8
Adviser, Department for International Development (DFID) Last week the UK Prime Minister hosted a G8 event on social impact investment at the Bloomberg Auditorium in London. Social impact investments are investments that have both a social and a financial return and in the case of international development are targeted at enterprises which benefit the poor […]
Trending in Social Innovation: Questions for the Founder and Curator of the Social Innovation Summit
From a presentation of a prototype for the world’s first cardboard bicycle to a conversation with “Mr. Toilet,” this year’s Social Innovation Summit, held May 29 and 30 in New York City, spanned the gamut of inventiveness and cross-sectoral approaches to systemic societal challenges. For four years now, the summit (held annually in New York […]
Businesses invest in projects that improve lives and protect the environment
An annual state of the market report launched today, shows that businesses across the world continue to see the value of investing in projects that reduce carbon emissions, protect the environment and improve people’s lives, as a way to demonstrate industry leadership and take responsibility for their impacts. Over the last year alone, the private […]
Exploring Opportunities for Collaboration Between Social Enterprises and Global Corporations
On May 14-16, Acumen held its first summit of social enterprises and global corporations to explore opportunities for collaboration aimed at expanding access to critical goods and services for poor communities in East and West Africa. The event was the formal kick-off of the Technical Assistance (TA) Initiative, a partnership between Acumen and Dow launched […]
Yasmina Zaidman: Exploring Opportunities for Collaboration Between Social Enterprises and Global Corporations
On May 14-16, Acumen held its first summit of social enterprises and global corporations to explore opportunities for collaboration aimed at expanding access to critical goods and services for poor communities in East and West Africa. The event was the formal kick-off of the Technical Assistance (TA) Initiative, a partnership between Acumen and Dow launched […]
Social Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation – Not the Same Thing
Social entrepreneurs are obsessed, quirky, and disruptive – and that’s why they can be so effective in creating major change. At the UN Social Innovation Summit held at the end of May in New York City, a plenary panelist stated that social enterprises and social innovation are “really the same thing.” This conclusion was not […]
Social Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation – Not the Same Thing
Social entrepreneurs are obsessed, quirky, and disruptive – and that’s why they can be so effective in creating major change. At the UN Social Innovation Summit held at the end of May in New York City, a plenary panelist stated that social enterprises and social innovation are “really the same thing.” This conclusion was not […]
Business, Health and the Road Ahead
I remember chatting a year ago with Deepak Chopra, the holistic health leader, in the Green Room of the annual GBCHealth Conference. GBCHealth is a coalition of companies that are addressing global health issues, and Deepak was surprised to see such a wide range of committed businesses in deep conversations on improving the health of […]