last mile distribution

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Financial Inclusion

Bank Andara: A bank for banks in Indonesia grows micro businesses and turns a profit

The first of its kind, a wholesale bank called Bank Andara has been making tech-savvy banking services available to the Indonesian microfinance sector for four years, now achieving a profit.

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Social Enterprise

Announcing the Winners of the NextBillion Case Writing Competition

What does it take to build and sustain a successful social enterprise? NextBillion’s Case Writing Contest explores and rewards the best business strategies aimed at alleviating poverty. Find out more about the three winning ideas.

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Financial Inclusion

Unleashing Ugandan farmers’ potential through mobile phones

A powerful new mobile platform combining agriculture information and financial services specifically designed for farmers in Uganda is going live, helping them plow even more value from each acre.

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Social Enterprise

Interview: EcoZoom on building a market for clean cookstoves in developing economies

Three billion people--half the world's population--need a safer way to cook.

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Financial Inclusion

Two ways to get farm loans where they're needed most: the boonies

To get small staple-crop farmers the loans they need, lenders must use new approaches tailored to the 90 percent of smallholders not in farmer organizations.

Silulo has educated over 10,000 students in computer and business skills. Photo: <a href="http://www.silulo.co.za/wp-content/gallery/graduation2011/8.jpg">Silulo</a>

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Social Enterprise

'Social franchising' is hot, but it's easier said than done

Luvuyo Rani, a teacher-turned-entrepreneur, hopes to lead a computing revolution with his low-cost internet cafes.

Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps CEO, discusses ways technology can help the poor benefit from the formal financial sector. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/6777384419/">World Economic Forum (flickr)</a>

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Financial Inclusion

Three ways digital cash helps the poor

Traditional financial services aren't working for the poor. The problem? Paper.

It's hard to get anything to remote parts of Bangladesh--even information. But one nonprofit is using upsells to get there. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39049548@N05/4162422293/">jankie</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a>.

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Value Chains

Can 'freemium' services pay for small-business training in Bangladesh?

A new business model pioneered by the IT industry is helping pay to spread information in more old-fashioned ways through rural Bangladesh.

Solar Sister entrepreneurs earn commissions for the sale of solar energy products to people who need them. Photo: <a href="http://www.solarsister.org/">Solar Sister</a>

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Sustainable Energy

Solar Sister: Lighting up livelihoods from one sister to another

A recent CNN article explains how one group in east Africa aims to help women create economic opportunities and eradicate energy poverty at the same time through commission-based sales of solar products

A new IIED report spells out the need for clean-energy projects to measure success based on metrics to which local stakeholders have agreed. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16901703@N06/4290071780/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Groundreporter (Flickr)</a>

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Sustainable Energy

How to measure clean-energy success

How will we figure out whether our antipoverty project succeeded? A new report recommends getting guidance from its beneficiaries.

Declaring victories would be so easy if only we didn't have to prove they were real. A new report has advice on how to do so.

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Social Enterprise

Interview: Healthy food carts for kids get a boost from a healthy global partnership in Indonesia

This article was republished by The Christian Science Monitor.

SELCO Technician installing solar panels. Credit: SELCO

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Sustainable Energy

SELCO: A shining star in market-driven social enterprise

This article was republished by The Christian Science Monitor

In India, one iconoclastic solar company employs deep knowledge of the ways communities use energy to overthrow the traditional means of bringing power to the people.