After '07-'08 Crisis, A New Focus on Food Security, Sustainable Solutions

By basharat

This is the first in a series of interviews with Simon Winter, TechnoServe's Senior Vice President of Development. He is responsible for leading and managing strategy, knowledge management/thought leadership, strategic planning, program development, and leading fundraising and partnerships. He is also responsible for managing and incubating innovative programs, including in India, Europe and for capital access for SMEs. Previously, he was Regional Director for Africa. Simonjoined the NextBillion Advisory Board this week. 
Kevin Keepper: What has been your impression of the Obama Administration's approach to food security?
Simon Winter: While the global drive for increased attention to food security was initiated before the Obama Administration came in to office, this administration began to clearly define a U.S. commitment to this initiative. They did so by articulating development as an important part of diplomacy and defense early on. The release of Feed the Future (FTF), a "whole-of-government" strategy in May 2010 which transcends the office of USAID, was an important step in this direction. The strategy is a comprehensive embrace of four key elements: better availability of food through improved productivity and volume of production, improved access to food by increasing incomes for the poor, improved utilization of food (or improved nutrition), and increased stability of food markets and supply chains which thereby reduces the risk that the poor will fall back into food insecurity.

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Accessing Finance: Old Challenges, New Solutions

By basharat

(Above: Owners of Alimentos NutriNaturales, in El Petén, Guatemala. The company makes products from the native Ramon nut. The company participated in TechnoServe’s national business plan competition in 2007 and was awarded $10,000 in seed capital that helped launch the business).
This is the second in a series of interviews with Simon Winter, TechnoServe's Senior Vice President of Development. He is responsible for leading and managing strategy, knowledge management/thought leadership, strategic planning, program development, and leading fundraising and partnerships. He is also responsible for managing and incubating innovative programs, including in India, Europe and for capital access for SMEs. Previously, he was Regional Director for Africa. Simon joined the NextBillion Advisory Board this week. 
Q: What are the major obstacles that small and growing businesses (SGB) face in trying to access finance in developing countries?
Simon Winter: First of all, we should be specific about whose access we are talking about here. Among the most challenged small and growing businesses (SGB) that will have a significant impact on poverty in developing countries are those comprised of farmers organized into business groups and entrepreneurs trying to build businesses in high-risk sectors, such as agro-processing. If you are a larger agribusiness multinational, you can get finance relatively easily for activities in emerging markets. Or, likewise, if you are a private individual, who is middle class and has assets, and you want to invest in higher growth sectors with relatively predictable cash flows, like telecommunications, you also can get finance relatively easily.

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Need Funding? Like Prizes? Innocentive May Be Your Answer

By basharat

 

 "But Rob, the impact investing community doesn't do startups, doesn't do angel.  The traditional VCs won't look at me because financial return expectations don't match up; traditional philanthropists won't because I'm a for-profit.  Any ideas?"

Welcome to my world, where at least once a week, I have a conversation with a promising, early stage social entrepreneur.  Good idea addressing a major problem?  Check.  Innovative, business-driven approach?  Check.  Exhausted the small list of impact investors and patient capitalists, without having raised a dime?  Too often, also check.
There are some early stage funders out there.  Changemakers is a fantastic platform that offers money but more importantly, exposure.  The Gray Ghost Ventures family includes First Light Ventures, which offers promising early-stage companies up to $100,000 in investment.
Now you can add Innocentive, which we first discussed a year ago.  They are running a prize-based innovation fund, and their latest challenge specifically seeks "novel, unorthodox, and extraordinary opportunities for philanthropic investment."

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Local Capacity Building and Business Development at the Base of the Pyramid

By basharat

This is the third post in a series of interviews with Simon Winter, TechnoServe's Senior Vice President of Development. He is responsible for leading and managing strategy, knowledge management/thought leadership, strategic planning, program development, and leading fundraising and partnerships. He is also responsible for managing and incubating innovative programs, including in India, Europe and for capital access for SMEs. Previously, he was Regional Director for Africa. Simon joined the NextBillion Advisory Board this week. 
Q: Local capacity building has become something of a buzzword in recent years. Could you please take a moment to introduce the topic as it pertains to the Base of the Pyramid?
A: An important component of any development work is the establishment of effective and sustainable local institutions. In the realm of economic development these might be physical organizations like private sector enterprises, training organizations, or public sector departments that encourage investment. Other critical institutions include ethical and governance norms, the legal system as well as civil society. Some international organizations like TechnoServe, are focused on developing small and growing enterprises, given a belief that they are key to broad based economic development. However, in order to ensure such firms can become sustainable it is critical that they become embedded in a web of local organizations that can serve and assist them into the future.

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Net Impact In Review: The Growing Imperative of Cross-Sector Collaboration

By basharat

One recurring theme and a growing imperative consistent across the Net Impact 2010 Conference sessions I attended was the need to increase mindful cross-sector collaborations, particularly within the field of development. 
Whether the intent was to better engage the BoP in healthcare, rebuild Haiti or create a sustainable social enterprise, the presenters at the Net Impact conference all spoke to the improvements that can be made in the way we design and conceptualize collaborative partnerships in order to create positive social change.
For all of the presenters in the session on "International Social Enterprise - Operational and Implementation Challenges," successful partnerships, especially within the communities they sought to serve, acted as the litmus test for the overall success of the enterprise. Realizing the importance of cross-sector collaboration is one thing, but what are the methods for creating an effective partnership? How do you combine potentially different value propositions under one effort? And, what are the practical skills you can use to approach partnering across segments of society?

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Tough Stuff Fortifying the Base

By basharat

A teacher purchases uses a solar panel to power an accompanying lantern, keeping her school illuminated. One of her students listens to an educational program (or maybe the occasional football game) on a radio powered by the household solar panel. His mother texts her employees via a mobile phone, electrified earlier in the day from the same panel.
This electrified ecosystem is the vision ofTough Stuff, which is working to bring low-cost energy to the BoP (and I don't just say that because it was recently named among the winners of the 2010 Tech Awards, which will honor the company and others on Nov. 6).  
Based in Mauritius, Africa, Tough Stuff has the familiar, loftier aim to alleviate poverty, enable education, and enhance health, safety and quality of life by selling solar-powered products. Even before teaming up together to build a series of products, Tough Stuff's founders, Adriaan Mol and Andrew Tanswell, each developed the belief that lifting people out of poverty is not achieved by the traditional development aid approach, rather by enterprise solutions. Creating wealth, or helping decrease expenditures, are the only long-lasting ways to help the impoverished, say the partners. This founding philosophy quickly formed the base of the founders' mission.

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Friday Roundup - 11/5/10: Suicides, Repayment Rates and Other Soundbites

By basharat

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Housekeeping note

Today I'm introducing a few changes in the format of this Friday Roundup. In addition to a short post about and links to noteworthy news in the social enterprise space, I'll include three sections that may help you stay up to date with what's being said on NextBillion (the last few weeks have averaged 2-3 posts per day... that's a lot to keep up with).
The first new section, In Case You Missed It, is a list of what was published on NextBillion on the corresponding week. The second one, Make Sure You Don't Miss It, will include relevant events and opportunities you should be aware of (if you know of anything that should be on this list, please do email me. I'll appreciate it.) The third one,NextBillion Archives, will include older NextBillion posts on topics relevant to the week's whenever possible. There's so much good content hidden inthe archives of this site, we thought it would be great to undust some of it. Hat tip to Bryan for bringing up the idea just recently. 

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