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Lighting the path of profitability for base-of-the-pyramid enterprises
It’s every small business’s dream to be profiled not only by mainstream media flagships like the New York Times and The Economist but also trendsetting outlets like “The Colbert Report” and Fast Company. And by this measure of media attention, d.light design, provider of solar light and power products for the developing world, is a resounding success. But as any enterprise knows, generating buzz about your product is not the same as having customers actually buy it. d.light represents that most ambitious of social enterprises: One that aims to turn a profit while solving a social problem. Dubbed “hybrid” organizations by Harvard Business School professor Julie Battilana, these businesses differ from other social enterprises, who often rely on grant-based funding, rather than revenue, to sustain operations.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- Base of the Pyramid, solar
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Press Release: Barefoot Power launches new portable, integrated GO systems
Barefoot Power's latest product release, the portable Barefoot GO solar system, launches this month offering an exciting new option for homes and businesses to increase access to renewable energy in developing countries. The Barefoot GO is a portable unit, so it can be used as a torch, ceiling or wall mounted. Barefoot GO lights can also be used as a torch, ceiling or wall mounted. Barefoot Go lights can also be reversed in the
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- solar
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Bringing Solar To Impoverished Towns, With A Model Straight From The Corporate World
Disillusioned by corporate life, Manuel Aguilar and Juan Rodriguez started Quetsol, an organization that uses business acumen to supply rural Guatemalans with solar power.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Latin America
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NextThought Monday – An Alternative to Alternative Energy: Will microfinance embrace biogas for the BoP?
Solar was once the wild west of alternative energy. Today, microfinance banks see it as a solid investment, even for poor clients, and bio-gas may follow its footsteps.
- Tags
- microfinance, solar
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Solar energy: African economies’ secret weapon
In recent years, the continent has become a haven for renewable energy, spearheaded by small, tech savvy companies keen on capitalizing off of the global south's hunger for energy.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- Base of the Pyramid, solar
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May’s Most Popular Posts on NB
This month’s most popular posts examined the expansion of solar business in India, a recent report by Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and new ideas in impact assessment.
- Categories
- Energy, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- solar
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Argentina builds first-ever solar neighborhood to fight energy poverty
A solar power project in Buenos Aires is providing electricity for some of the city's poorest households. Volunteers are hoping to create Argentina's first green community - one rooftop at a time.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- rural development, solar
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Selling Solar Panels on the Installment Plan in Africa
Some solar startups are addressing the problem with creative financing models.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- solar
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