Early on at the Sankalp Forum 2011 one of the 600-odd attendees told me that the event’s buzzword would likely be “ecosystem”. It turned out to be a  pretty apt observation. From the crowded hallways to the beanbags in the networking lounge, ecosystem creation was certainly on people’s minds.

The event kicked off with Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Innovation Council, video-conferencing in from Chicago and continued to include panels about scale, impact investing, government and each of the five Sankalp sectors: education; technology for development; health, water and sanitation; clean energy and agriculture, food and rural business. » Continue reading “Sankalp Forum: Building the Socent Ecosystem”

It’s been nearly seven years since the late C.K. Prahalad wrote The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, a book that has become essential reading for anyone interested in that segment of the economy.  In that time, the term bottom of the pyramid (BoP) has also become common vernacular.

However, despite the increase in awareness of the BoP space, a lot of the focus has been on the wrong questions, says Ted London, the Director of the Base of the Pyramid Research Initiative at the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan,

At an event in Mumbai last week for his new book, Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid, London said there has been much discussion about whether businesses that target the BoP are good or bad for the poor. That, he argues, is no longer important. » Continue reading “Reframing the BoP Business Strategy”

A recent article in GOOD magazine touched on an interesting aspect to the clean energy debate. Developing nations are in a unique situation when it comes to adopting alternative and clean energy. These countries are in a position to develop the right way from the start.

Currently, developed countries, such as the United States, depend on “dirty” energy—oil, coal, etc. Old habits are hard to break. For countries such as India, China and Brazil, using clean energies from the start can save them from having to change these bad habits in the future. » Continue reading “How to “Leapfrog” Dirty Energy”

Facebook started as a college social site but quickly grew to be much more than that; Twitter has become a new way to share information; and LinkedIn is the professional networking site where members post resumes and job openings. But there’s a new social site on the scene: Jumo.

Jumo, which means “together in concert” in Yoruba, aims to connect socially minded people with like-minded organizations. » Continue reading “Jumo: A Socially Minded Social Network”

This story originally appeared in our December 3, 2010 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

In the first issue of Beyond Profit, published in April 2009, we wrote about the emergence of the impact investing industry, which facilitates investments that create a positive social impact beyond financial return. Earlier this week, a report by J.P. Morgan and the Rockefeller Foundation declared impact investment a new asset class—a remarkable development in the lifecycle of this industry. What does it mean for social enterprise? Lindsay Clinton analyzes the current landscape.

On November 29, J.P. Morgan and the Rockefeller Foundation released a report that will likely serve as a turning point in the development of impact investing. The report, which assesses expected and realized returns of more than 1,000 impact investments, estimates that the industry presents an investment opportunity between US$400bn and US$1 trillion with profit potential between US$183bn and US$667bn. Importantly, the report declares impact investment an asset class which provides a strong indicator to investors who may have shied away from social investing in the past to reconsider this emerging investment category. » Continue reading “Impact Investing: Challenges and Opportunities”

By Diana Hollmann

The Customer Satisfaction Industry has been doing it for a while now – assessing the performance of companies by carefully listening to client feedback.

Today, it is common knowledge that in order to stay competitive, companies need to know how their customers experience a product or service. How else would companies know whether they provide what the customer really needs and whether the company is performing satisfactorily?

Over the past 40 years, private sector companies and specialized agencies have become experts in gathering customer feedback; creating industry benchmarks; learning from comparison with competitors; and, translating the lessons learned into continuous improvements of management and operations. » Continue reading “Social Investors – Listen to your Investees to Increase Performance”