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Surveying the Landscape for Social Investments in Africa: A Major New Study Assesses the Current State of Play on the Continent
The social investment sector in Africa is dynamic and growing – but it’s struggling to close the enormous Sustainable Development Goals financing gap. The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) explored the opportunities and obstacles facing social investors on the continent in an ambitious new study, “The Landscape for Social Investments in Africa.” NextBillion interviewed AVPA’s CEO, Frank Aswani, to discuss the study’s findings, and what they say about the current state of social investment in Africa.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Impact Measurement and Management During COVID-19: Tips and Resources to Help Social Impact Organizations Adapt
As the scope of the COVID-19 economic crisis becomes clear, social impact organizations are scrambling to cut costs. According to Matthew Guttentag and Mallory St. Claire at ANDE, this might lead them to reduce their focus on impact measurement and management (IMM). They explain why this would be a mistake – and how organizations can adapt their IMM activities during the crisis.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
- Tags
- COVID-19, data, impact measurement, research
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A Phone Can Only Do So Much: Why Mobile Access Isn’t Leading To Digital Financial Service Usage Among Women in India
India has made significant progress in financial inclusion in recent years. However low-income working women are not benefiting from this momentum, even when they receive their wages digitally. To better understand why, BSR’s HERproject and MSC have researched the financial behaviors of female garment workers in India. Akhand Tiwari at MSC and James Steady at BSR explore the results, and discuss how the financial inclusion sector should respond.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Telecommunications
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From Financial Inclusion To Inclusive Finance: The Power of Frameworks To Catalyse Change
In this age of information, we increasingly rely on data to inform our decisions. But as Amrik Heyer at FSD Kenya points out, the utility of data for guiding policy and investment depends on the paradigms and frameworks which influence our thinking. She discusses the power of frameworks in shaping research and informing financial inclusion policy and investment, using the example of the FinAccess survey in Kenya.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Researching Outside the Box: The Benefits and Challenges of Systems Practice for Engaged Ecosystem Research
In its research on the tech innovation ecosystems in Cape Town, Nairobi and Lagos, Cenfri applied a Systems Practice approach, collaborating with key players to reveal a comprehensive picture of these dynamic systems. Analysts at Cenfri and Lagos Business School explore the model, and the challenges and considerable advantages it presents for researchers and business ecosystems.
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- Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Flipping the Script: Why Small and Growing Businesses Should Lead the Researchers – Not the Other Way Around
All too often, global development research hinges on the interest of researchers, rather than the knowledge needs of small and growing businesses and their impacted communities. This can leave entrepreneurs with plenty of reports, but no practical tools for continuing to collect and use data themselves. Analysts at the William Davidson Institute, Gente Del Futuro, Practical Action and ANDE propose a better approach: letting small businesses lead the way.
- Categories
- Technology
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Youth Saving and Spending During COVID-19: Tracking Young People’s Financial Activity in Nigeria
How are young people in Africa saving and spending money during COVID-19, when many of their previous sources of income have disappeared? Mahlet Alemayehu at L-IFT shares the results of a study in which 117 young people living in Nigeria kept a record of their savings and spending over several months. The data can help financial service providers anticipate how young people will need to use their accounts, and determine what other services they may need as they navigate the challenges of the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Tags
- COVID-19, financial inclusion, research, savings, youth
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Analysis: Investing in Social Good is Finally Becoming Profitable
Impact investments, which aim to promote a social good or prevent a social ill, have significantly outperformed traditional bets during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing, research
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