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Remote Business Coaching Made Sense Even Before COVID-19 – Now it’s a Necessity
The coronavirus is forcing us all to do things differently. But as Donna Rosa argues, in some cases that may be a good thing. For instance, microenterprises in low-income countries have long needed basic business management skills, yet the development sector has often failed to deliver this training effectively. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes many interactions online, she argues that it’s time to increase the focus on distance coaching for these small businesses.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education
- Tags
- business education, COVID-19, edtech
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Revenue Over Rounds: Why We Should Encourage Entrepreneurs to Focus on Revenue Before Fundraising
Before the fallout from coronavirus, 2019 was a banner year for startup investment in Latin America. But Daniel Cossio at Village Capital cautions that Silicon Valley-levels of funding could incentivize startups to scale too big, too fast — leading to high-profile failures. He urges investors and entrepreneurs to resist the growth-at-all costs mentality and come up with an alternative definition of startup success.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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How Will Last-Mile Distributors Adapt to and Survive the COVID-19 Crisis?
COVID-19 is creating major challenges for last-mile distributors around the world. And though these businesses are both nimble and resilient, they urgently need financial and technical support. Emma Colenbrander at the Global Distributors Collective explores how investors, NGOs and other stakeholders can help the sector to survive this crisis, and to continue to deliver impact as the pandemic subsides.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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Reducing the Costs of Migration: How Better Data Can Lead to Better Policy – and Better Prices – in Migrant Remittances
International migration has become a pressing global issue, and one that's likely to grow in the coming years. One way to help economies absorb migrants with minimal disruption is to improve their access to affordable, formal cross-border remittances. But according to Damola Owolade at FinMark Trust, this goal may be easier said than done, as accurate data on remittance pricing can be surprisingly hard to acquire.
- Categories
- Finance
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Frontier Innovators: A New Roadmap for Social Impact
In recent years, there have been growing calls for businesses to focus more on their social impact. Until recently, Silicon Valley had been held up as the paragon of high-impact business models, but its star has dimmed. Social enterprise has long offered an exciting alternative, but the movement isn’t scaling. Now, a new model is emerging, driven by innovators from lesser-known places, explains Alex Lazarow, venture capitalist and author of the new book: "Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs – from Delhi to Detroit – Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley."
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Distribute Cash, not COVID-19: Five Ways Policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa Can Provide Cash Transfers Safely
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, 35 countries have introduced new cash transfer programs in response to the pandemic. Cash is one of the most effective ways to support people during a crisis, say Martin Gould and Nate Vernon at IDInsight. But administering cash transfers in low-income countries can raise some big questions for policymakers. They discuss five ways governments in sub-Saharan Africa can manage these programs safely and effectively.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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From the Valley of Death to a $14 Million Series A: Sokowatch, Quona and the Role of Philanthropic Capital
The e-commerce company Sokowatch recently raised a $14 million Series A round, enabling it to expand its digital financial services to more merchants in Africa. But just two years ago, the company was in danger of going under. Malika Anand and Maelis Carraro at BFA’s Catalyst Fund discuss how the fund's philanthropically-funded acceleration approach has helped Sokowatch – and other promising fintech startups – survive the “valley of death” and position themselves for commercial investment.
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From the Fringe to the Center: Assessing the State of the Off-Grid Appliance Market in 2020
Energy access is about much more than connecting households to the grid, or getting them a rooftop solar panel. People also need access to life-changing appliances. But as Jenny Corry Smith at CLASP and Michael Tsan at Dalberg Advisors explain, these appliances still aren't reaching many households in rural sub-Saharan Africa. They share key insights from the new State of the Off-grid Appliance Market Report on how the sector can address this growing priority.
- Categories
- Energy
