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Can Impact Investing Avoid the Failures of Microfinance?

Harvard Business Review

In 2010, J.P Morgan projected up to $1T in investment would be deployed this decade — which would make impact investing twice the size of official development aid to the world’s less develop countries (as defined by the United Nations) , presuming historic levels of aid stayed constant since 2010.

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Women as Microfinance Leaders, Not Just Clients

Harvard Business Review

We're a network of microfinance organizations; we exist to share practices and develop the leadership skills required by a sector that has grown up fast. And as you might be aware, microfinance is a phenomenon that, while it did not set out to be "for women," has mainly turned out to be.

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How Large NGOs Are Using Data to Transform Themselves

Harvard Business Review

In 2010, the Seilers surveyed all officers and social services staff. Army staffers now develop individual strategies to overcome these barriers, connecting families to community services to achieve self-sufficiency. A critical part was adapting a proven model in a related field: microfinance.

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Businesses Serving the Poor Need to Get Over Their Unease About Profit

Harvard Business Review

And their intuition isn't baseless: As the bottom-of-the-pyramid concept shifted into the public eye and attracted the criticism of the development sector, the standards for judging the impact of a venture aiming to serve low-income consumers seemed to get a lot tougher. The microfinance industry is a rare D and E success story.

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It Takes a Village to Raise an Entrepreneur

Harvard Business Review

Take, for example, the issue of economic development. A hybrid approach is exemplified by startup Frogtek, which develops software for local shopkeepers in emerging markets to more efficiently track their inventory, leading to better purchasing decisions and greater profits.

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Facebook Presence Is an Important Clue to a Social Venture's Future

Harvard Business Review

It seems to signal that an enterprise's theory of how to effect change resonates with a lot of people and that the organization is developing a "voice" for effectively communicating its ideas to customers — a crucial success factor. A larger Facebook network suggests that a social-venture idea has legs.

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It's Not All About Growth for Social Enterprises

Harvard Business Review

In fact, where Mentor Mothers are present, transmission rates are on average 9%, compared to the UNAIDS 2010 estimate of 27%. Many in the nonprofit world call this technical assistance or training, while for-profit entrepreneurs might see it as business development, partnerships or even affiliate marketing. Conclusion?