Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

On my last trip to India, I witnessed an innovation experiment, National Agro Foundation (NAF) , that addresses this wicked problem. Addressing the agriculture value chain—soil testing, facilitation of inputs and credit, market linkage, and field advisory services—is part and parcel of agriculture development initiatives.

Innovation 12

Innovation Microfinance Parcell Technology 12

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 1, 2013

Although she was poor in resources, she possessed the innovation mindset shared by many game changers: they see and act on opportunities , use "and" thinking to resolve tough dilemmas and break through compromises, and employ their resourcefulness to power through obstacles. Hopeless as her situation was, Shantha engaged in "and" thinking.

Microfinance 9

Microfinance Innovation Committee Banking 9

Harvard Business Review

MAY 24, 2012

Social entrepreneurship has evolved a great deal since the late 1980s, when pioneers like City Year 's Alan Khazei and Teach for America 's Wendy Kopp took great risks to prove that innovative organizations could produce transformative social change. Take, for example, the issue of economic development.

Entrepreneur 18

Entrepreneur Microfinance Market Segmentation Incubator 18

Harvard Business Review

MAY 18, 2016

Not many would associate innovation with large, service-oriented nonprofits with decades of history. 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.

Microfinance 13

Microfinance Strategic Planning Finance Globalization 13

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Do we really want to beat India at developing clean tech, cheap medical devices, and affordable housing? Encourage financial entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurship in financial services has been given a bad rap as one contributor to the economic crisis, but we desperately need innovative financing models for start-ups.

Venture Capitalist 16

Venture Capitalist Entrepreneur Microfinance Finance 16

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 11, 2013

When presented with a surprising idea, smart organizations will bravely listen, because what comes next might just be game-changing innovation. Six years ago, David and Donna Allman approached Opportunity with an idea that fell outside our traditional microfinance model: to build a Community Economic Development (CED) program in Nicaragua.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Rogers Tourism Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Yet unlike in finance, where distributing risk across institutions is the goal, in drug development the focus is on isolating risk. Although new drugs are developed for those with a particular disease, they are tested in a healthy population before they are distributed and assessed in a vulnerable one.

Banking 14

Banking Pharmaceuticals Microfinance Risk Management 14

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 18, 2013

Without economies of scale, they argued, developing societies would never develop the efficiencies needed to modernize. To address the needs of youth in developing countries, BRAC launched a girls' empowerment program, Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA), in 2008. So BRAC got into food processing.

Microfinance 10

Microfinance Follow-up Bureaucracy Self-aware 10

Harvard Business Review

MAY 2, 2014

And Bill Gates announced he was shifting his priorities from software development to social impact by moving full time to his foundation. Note: This post is adapted from my remarks at Babson College’s 2014 Lewis Institute Social Innovator Awards. In the broader U.S. Lead collaborations, not just organizations.

Entrepreneur 15

Entrepreneur Microfinance NGO Mission Statement 15

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 21, 2013

This innovation has impact. When an organization has evidence that its innovation and model produce substantial social impact, its leaders face a dilemma: do we grow our organization continuing to provide our service directly or do we expand our impact by helping other organizations adopt the model? Conclusion?

Venture Capitalist 13

Venture Capitalist Mentor Microfinance NGO 13

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 22, 2013

Calling himself the ICT4D jester (using the development jargon for "information and communication technologies for development"), he has no shortage of material. That's easier said than done in a world where most product innovations are geared toward the rich. Grapple with the human dimensions of the problem.

Technology 8

Technology Microfinance Banking Document 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 15, 2016

” In less mature economies and fragile regions of the world, entrepreneurs are just as, if not more, critical to livelihoods and development. Among the initial findings : more effective programs emphasize communication skills, networking, and organizational structure over developing finance and accounting skills.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Policies Entrepreneur NGO 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

Fatigue may be setting in for some Western investors’ interest in African innovation, particularly those that have yet to reap rewards to brag about. Or there’s Nairobi’s SuzieBeauty, which develops cosmetics catering to African tastes at quality matching Western levels. Innovation in Distribution.

Microfinance 8

Microfinance Hotels Entrepreneur Incubator 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 30, 2018

“My definition of a yoga teacher is just someone who helps people to develop a full spectrum practice in their life. Embracing your multiple identities can improve your ability to take others’ perspectives and engage in creative and innovative behavior. ” Connections between work and home can also be influential.

How To 15

How To Learning-by-Doing Examples Participative 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 17, 2016

In 1985 Peter Drucker argued for a shift toward an entrepreneurial society, one where “executives in all institutions…make innovation and entrepreneurship a normal, ongoing everyday activity.” And if you need access to money, crowdfunding platforms and microfinance options make that easier than ever.

Drucker 8

Drucker Microfinance Licensing Entrepreneur 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Here are our four rules we use to evaluate the underlying business concept: Innovation. The kids develop discipline and focus, but also practical, marketable skills. Even the most entrepreneurial leader, of course, needs a great idea. Has it been tried this way before? Marquis found a way to do this. Importance.

Entrepreneur 14

Entrepreneur Planning Taylor Taylorism 14