Articles by James Militzer
-
Guest Articles
Wednesday
January 11
2017Announcing NextBillion’s 2017 Editorial Calendar and Our First Monthly Theme: Microfinance
It's a new year, and NextBillion is announcing a new approach to showcase our diverse array of content: Each month, along with our regular coverage of the broader social business world, we’ll dedicate special coverage to a specific sector. We're launching the concept this month, with a special focus on microfinance. You can view our full 2017 editorial calendar here.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
Friday
January 6
2017Scott Anderson / Kyle Poplin / James Militzer
Social Business Roundup: A New Leader at Rockefeller, a New Investment in Global Health, and a New Mobile Money Frontrunner in India
When Raj Shah left USAID as its administrator in 2015, he went on to form – not a charity, not an NGO – but a private equity fund, Latitude Capital, which invests power and infrastructure projects in emerging markets. Now that he's been named president of the Rockefeller Foundation, what course will Shah chart? We cover that question, and several other intriguing developments, in our social business roundup.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
-
Guest Articles
Tuesday
January 3
2017Announcing NextBillion’s Most Influential Posts of 2016
Congratulations to the three winners of NextBillion’s “Most Influential Post of 2016” contest. Each winner brought a unique mixture of topicality, engaging writing and thought-provoking analysis to their posts, which tackled some of the most important issues facing the social business world in the past year.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise
-
Sunday
January 1
2017Microfinance Looks Toward the Future – But Will Fintech Revive the Controversies of Its Past?
James Militzer's wrap-up of European Microfinance Week says microfinance has lurched from development sector darling to punching bag over the years, but in the midst of this turmoil – and in reaction to it – practitioners at industry events have been diligently reimagining their sector. That take earned Militzer a spot in our Most Influential contest. You can participate by casting a vote ... but you've only got one more day.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Guest Articles
Friday
December 16
2016Kyle Poplin / James Militzer / Scott Anderson
Social Business Roundup: My Ivory Tower or Yours? Will Cash-strapped Pensions Turn Back to ‘Sin Stocks’?
In the weekly roundup, the CEO of the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) in London says universities shouldn’t teach social entrepreneurship because they aren’t accessible to all; namely, poor people who are often best positioned to help solve social problems in their own neighborhoods. But there's a flaw in his logic. And on Monday, CalPERS, the U.S.'s largest public pension fund, will meet to decide whether to end its 16-year-old policy of divesting from tobacco stocks. Is the tide starting to turn against ESG investments among public pension funds?
- Categories
- Education, Investing, Social Enterprise
-
Guest Articles
Wednesday
December 14
2016Social Business Gets Trumped: Is it Time for the Sector to Get Political?
Like most of us, Jonathan Lewis has strong opinions about the election of Donald Trump. In this podcast interview, the serial social entrepreneur and passionate advocate for the sector shares his frank views of the incoming administration, and why Trump's victory shows that social business has been "smug and remiss" in underplaying the impact of government. "The simple fact of the matter is: Government is scale," he says – so social business can no longer afford to be apolitical.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
Tuesday
December 13
2016Unlocking Human Potential: How Psychometric Scoring Can Turbocharge Financial Inclusion
EFL Global aims to enable lending to underserved borrowers around the world. The firm pioneered psychometric credit scoring, a screening tool designed to identify traits key to successful entrepreneurship. In this email Q&A with NextBillion Senior Editor James Militzer, Jared Miller, CEO of EFL Global, talks about efforts by his company and others to “turbocharge” financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Friday
December 9
2016Weekly Roundup: Romanticizing Castro, Bridge’s Troubled Waters and the Benefits of Cash
NB's Weekly Roundup makes the call on whether Cuba's high quality of health care justified Castro’s means of achieving it; ponders the future of a private education company under attack from public sector foes; helps debunk the assumption that poor people, when given cash, will squander it on cigarettes and alcohol; and brings up the possibility that data, as it relates to public health, is a business opportunity.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Technology
