Social entrepreneurship has taken off in these regions, but enterprises tackling challenges from health care to microfinance struggle because they do not have the access to capital to expand their operations. The Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), based in Singapore, will try to change that, offering a hand up, not a hand out, to organizations who need funding.

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The Peace Dividend Trust (PDT), Scott Gilmore’s brainchild, strives to make humanitarian aid more effective, efficient, and equitable, allowing foreign aid missions to achieve their goals faster. Working to cut out the middlemen while permitting the funds to flow from international procurement officers to local vendors, PDT encourages local resources to rebuild their economies rather than relying on expensive international aid workers and supplies. The Peace Dividend Marketplace is one result of the PDT.

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Last Friday, the United Nations agency installed a vending machine in Manhattan’s Union Square in raising awareness about the issue. Pedestrians who passed through 14th Street and Park Avenue were confronted with a vividly colored machine that offered dirty water in several varieties, including, typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and dengue.

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This article originally appeared on Dowser.org. Dowser Audio Slideshow: Adam Green, Rocking the Boat from Dowser on Vimeo. Adam Green believes in teaching 21st century job and life skills through old fashioned wooden boat building.

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We’ve covered the inspiring work of Samasource before. But we felt we’d be remiss for wrapping up our series on the social side of sustainability without including another look at this innovative effort.  Though it is a non-profit, Samasource works as a bridge between profit-based, socially-responsible companies, and marginalized people in countries such as Africa and throughout [...]

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By Vale Jokisch at BALLE conference 2010 Many folks in the local economy movement believe that small businesses can compete effectively.  But what happens when a community-based business wants or feels the pressure to grow?  Is it possible for a small, local business to grow without compromising its commitment to sustainability, people, and community?  Are [...]

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By Vale Jokisch at BALLE conference 2010 According to Michael Shuman, author of The Small-Mart Revolution, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.  Despite the growing presence of big box chain stores in the US and abroad, Shuman has witnessed a growing number of small businesses using entrepreneurial strategies to gain a competitive [...]

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In high school, we were warned against using marijuana, not necessarily because marijuana itself was that bad for you, it was the fact that the use of marijuana would lead to other, more unhealthy drugs.  It was referred to as a “gateway drug.” The concept is equally applicable to many other aspects of life.  Running [...]

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By Vale Jokisch at BALLE conference 2010 Product certifications are everywhere.  Walk into Whole Foods and you’ll see packages labeled Fair Trade Certified, USDA Organic, Rainforest Alliance Certified – the list goes on and on.  It can be challenging for consumers to understand exactly what these certifications mean for the products they choose to buy. [...]

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By Vale Jokisch at BALLE conference 2010 It’s hard to turn on the news these days without hearing an update on jobs and unemployment.  The federal government has invested millions in new projects to help create jobs across the US.  For the city of Cleveland, waiting for federal assistance just isn’t enough.  That is where [...]

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By Terry Provance, Executive Director, Oikocredit USA When Mohammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for creating the Grameen Microcredit Bank in Bangladesh he stated, “Poverty is the absence of all human rights.”  He seemed to be echoing what Mahatma Gandhi said about poverty being the worst form of violence 60 years before.  [...]

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Today, three billion people—nearly half the world’s population—burn coal, wood, dung, or compost to heat their homes and cook their food. In addition to the deforestation associated with open fire cooking, especially in regions of conflict, the need for fuel often leaves searchers vulnerable, exposing them to risk of attack. This is particularly true in [...]

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We’ve all read or watched the horror stories coming out of Afghanistan.  This remote and rugged land has seen more than its share of suffering during the Soviet invasion, the tyranny of the Taliban, and the chaos of the most recent decade.  Whatever one’s take is on the current situation and uncertain future of Afghanistan, [...]

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By Olivia Khalili, founder, Cause Capitalism Ten-to-one if you’re reading this, you are an entrepreneur or intrapreneur who cares about making the world better. Whether you have a history-shifting concept, fledgling idea, or just a desire is often times irrelevant. We have a fascination with systemic solutions because they impress us in their genius, scale, [...]

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(Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from David Bornstein and Susan Davis’ recent book, Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know.) By David Bornstein and Susan Davis Launching an organization is a process of recruiting funders, advisors, board members, and staffers, one by one. Over the past thirty years, the resource landscape has exploded [...]

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Corporations solve problems. Their solutions address human needs: A better running shoe, a faster search engine, a renewable way to produce energy. Sales—ultimately, profits—provide the primary measure for determining the success of these solutions. But a corporation’s solutions (whether a product or service) do much more than simply produce profits. Sometimes for better and sometimes [...]

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