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The U.S. Global Development Lab was established in April 2014, and builds on USAID's 50 years of experience in applying science, technology, innovation, and partnership to accelerate development impact.
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Greetings, Development Innovation Ventures portfolio organizations, past and present! As we mentioned in our last issue, we have re-launched our newsletter, targeted to you. We are using the Innovator Digest to share recent news, upcoming opportunities, and useful resources; to cultivate a sense of community among members of the DIV family; and to engage you in a conversation about addressing some of the toughest challenges in global development. Please take advantage of the tools we share and send us your feedback, updates, and ideas to ensure we're making this as useful as possible.
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Welcome to DIV's community -
divportfolio.org
. While you can find basic information at
usaid.gov/div
, the DIV community site is created to engage and share more robust and detailed information amongst our DIV family of organizations, partners, and fans.
What does this mean for our portfolio organizations?
We encourage you to check out the community. Some specific ways in which we hope it can help you are to:
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Feature timely and dynamic content about your work:
This site includes
profiles
on all of our portfolio organizations via the Global Innovation Exchange. These profiles offer you an opportunity to feature timely updates on your work, more easily. Some of you already "own" your profile; we encourage all organizations that don't currently have an Exchange log-in to
sign-up
for one and let us know so that we can transfer ownership of your profile to you (
email
us with "divportfolio Profile Update" in the subject line with your Exchange user name in your email). This will assist you in getting the word out about your innovation and will make accessing other potential funders and customers for your innovation more seamless.
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Cross-post your job openings to reach a wider audience:
Other great features of this new site include our ability cross-post your
job opportunities
, which many of you have requested. To have your job openings featured on the page,
email
us with "Innovator Job Opportunity" in the subject and a link to your posted job advert; if you don't have a website, you can send us the job advert and we can upload it to our site.
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Guest or co-author blogs with us: We welcome contributions to our new blog, which will go live next week at this site: www.divportfolio.org/blogs.
We will be reaching out to some of you periodically to pitch co-authored blog ideas, but we welcome you to contribute at any time. Typical target length for blogs are 300-500 words. If you've written something on your own site, and want us to cross-post here, we're also happy to do that. Send ideas to
us
!
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In India, 300 million people do not have access to electricity. This CNN Money features Orb Energy, aiming to provide 2 gigawatts of energy by 2022. It makes a range of products in Bangalore, from water heaters to streetlights, which are used to power hospitals and schools throughout the region. Also check out this shout-out to Orb in a recent Center for Global Development essay.
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FICO, the main credit risk scoring company in the U.S., estimates that 3 billion people worldwide have little or no access to the traditional banking system, leaving them with relatively thin or nonexistent credit files. This Boston Globe article features FICO's efforts to score those consumers, partnering with companies such as EFL, which assess risk using its character-based questionnaire.
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Vayu
was featured recently in Al-Jazeera for its use of drones to deliver medical supplies to rural areas in Madagascar. The company aims to enable the off-grid villages to diagnose and treat medical conditions via drone-delivered test samples and vaccines, preventing unnecessary deaths and illnesses at a fraction of the cost.
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In December, the Government of Haryana State in India, in partnership with
J-PAL
South Asia, launched its demand-side effort to boost uptake of immunizations. In India, immunization services are offered for free in public health facilities, but immunization coverage remains low, particularly among very low-income households. Only 52% of children aged 12-23 months have received the basic immunization package. J-PAL is supporting Haryana officials in testing a potentially highly scaleable model for boosting uptake by offering low-cost incentives to households.
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The Circulars, a World Economic Forum initiative, are identifying companies at the vanguard of the "circular economy," focused on eliminating waste by reimagining the product lifecycle - from design to end of life. They recently recognized ag-tech company, Hello Tractor, alongside Patagonia, as one of five companies that are changing the world.
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This year's Tech Awards, which shines a spotlight on startups that use technology to make lives better in poor countries, looked back at 15 years of winners to find the projects and companies that had not only survived but thrived. Among the winners were product development company,
D-Rev,
for its work treating babies with jaundice with phototherapy, and PAYGO technology company,
Angaza
, for its work selling solar devices on an installment plan. D-Rev was also recently selected as a
GLG Social Impact Fellow.
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Impact Listing recently named
Operation ASHA
as one of the top 10 health-focused social enterprises in India for its innovative work in treating tuberculosis in slums and rural communities using eCompliance, its monitoring system to track patient treatment.
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Approximately 3 million people lack access to power in Peru, driven by the remoteness of many rural villages. Check out this feature on PowerMundo, which is leading the way in Peru's off-grid energy sector.
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Check out this blog post by Evidence Action on a randomized controlled trial it is running to see if it can improve child nutrition via respected local WASH promoters. By using its local promoters to provide maintenance and education on the use of dispensers to the community, the organization aims to find evidence for what works in improving maternal and child nutritional outcomes.
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Ag Funder News outlines how myAgro provides smallholder farmers a mobile savings system that enables them to pay for crucial inputs like seed and fertilizer in pre-paid installments. The company also provides technical training at the time of planting to help farmers undertake modern farming techniques. According to myAgro's founder, they're seeing yield increases of 50% to 100% or around $150 additional income per year.
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Have you done rigorous research that could benefit millions of people in poverty? If so, then Evidence Action, one of only four DIV portfolio organizations to win a Stage 3 award for its Dispensers for Safe Water, would love to talk to you. Evidence Action Beta is looking for ambitious researchers whose work or insights could benefit millions of people living in poverty, and who want to participate in seeing their research turned into viable, scaled up programs.
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For businesses selling products and services at the BoP, understanding the consumers and the choices they make is critical to creating an effective value proposition, boosting sales, and delivering impact. A few of the most successful inclusive businesses spend considerable time and resource on getting customer feedback and information, and use that to continuously improve their offering, but many businesses at the BoP do not. This February, in partnership with Acumen, the Practitioner Hub for Inclusive Business explores how consumer engagement is helping businesses transform how they work at the base of the pyramid, and they are looking for blog contributions. If interested, contact Lara Sinha, copying your DIV AOR.
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USAID, the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, DFID, and KOICA have joined together to launch Round 7 of Saving Lives at Birth to find the tools and approaches to help the mothers and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities during their most vulnerable hours around the time of delivery.
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Open Road Alliance (ORA) is a private, philanthropic organization that provides fast and flexible contingency funding to non-profits and social enterprises. It makes one-time grants and loans to mid-implementation projects that encounter an unexpected external roadblock that requires a discrete injection of funds to solve the problem at hand. ORA can move from application to funding in just 3-6 weeks. ORA's core funding criteria are:
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The project must be
mid-implementation
, meaning all of the funding had been raised and
then
the roadblock occurred
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It must be
unexpected
- it cannot be an internal error but something external to the organization that has created the additional funding need
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The problem must have a
discrete
, one-time funding solution that is not recurring
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The organization's model must have the potential to be system-changing, either in design or scale, creating
catalytic impact
ORA is open to any sector and geography. If you think your organization is facing a situation that may fit these criteria, reach out to ORA Portfolio Manager, Caroline Bressan, copying your DIV AOR.
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Similar to DIV, the Global Innovation Fund (GIF), which USAID helped launch, invests in evidence-based social innovations that aim to improve the lives and opportunities of millions of people in the developing world. Through grants, equity investments, and debt, it supports breakthrough solutions with strong potential for social impact at a large scale. Financial support ranges from $50,000 to $15 million. GIF accepts applications on a rolling basis. DIV portfolio organizations such as SafeBoda are also part of the GIF portfolio.
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The DRK Foundation is accepting applications from social enterprises that are between 1-3 years old, with scalable business models that work to affect policy, public opinion, and economies. DRK portfolio organizations receive 300,000 USD. Applications are accepted year-round. Several DIV portfolio organizations, including Living Goods, Muso, and myAgro, are part of the DRK portfolio.
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Expert and Talent Resources
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Tap Our Expert Network Resources for FREE!
Ever wonder "If I just could talk to an expert on this tricky issue..."? We get it. We've contracted two expert networks, OnFrontiers and Atheneum Partners, to provide DIV and our portfolio organizations access to experts in every sector and country. The options are endless. Use this resource for everything from testing a new business idea with an expert in consumer products and market entry, to asking a quick question about a legal or regulatory issue or learning about investors who might be interested in your work. To tap the networks at no cost to you, email your AOR with a few sentences about the type of support you're looking for and why, and they'll get back to you with next steps.
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Think You Want to Hire an Ex-Management Consultant?
If you have a job to fill for which you think an ex-consultant would be a good fit, you can advertise within McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) alumni communities for free. Register for a McKinsey recruiter account here to post. Postings are visible to both consultants transitioning from the firm and McKinsey's global alumni network. They run for 60 days and can be renewed. If you have any questions, email Jeannie Tarka at McKinsey. For BCG, register for an account here and email Lauren Audley with any questions.
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You know we at DIV love good data, including on costs! And we know it can be hard for early-stage organizations to invest in good accounting talent and support. AfID provides access to accountants interested in using their skills for development impact. AfID places accountants through volunteer assignments of 2 weeks to 12 months or even longer permanent placements with organizations along the spectrum of accounting sophistication. Services are free for non-profits and a modest fee for for-profits. A DIV portfolio organization is just starting to work with AfID, so we should know more about its quality of support in the near future. In the meantime, if interested, email Leah Mclaren at AfID, copying your DIV AOR.
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We know that free labor isn't always no-cost, especially for time-strapped organizations like many in the DIV community. MovingWorlds' "Experteering" platform matches global development organizations to skilled professionals (aka "Experteers") who want to donate their time and expertise. Volunteers come from around the world and offer a wide variety of skills. What might this look like? One DIV portfolio organization, for example, has had a long-term relationship with a volunteer who has reworked its fundraising and outreach arm. MovingWorlds' matching site and support team help organizations scope projects, train organizations and experts for their engagements, and report on learning and impact. The Experteering Platform is free for social impact organizations. Check out their website if interested.
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We do our best to supercharge your social media presence through our own, but also have some quick and useful resources that can help you build more in-house capacity. For those of you newer to social media, check out this free, introductory webinar and pass it along to anyone on your team who is working on comms. Don't forget, we also have a social media guide on the DIV Grantee Hub.
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Check out this article in the latest issue of SSIR, noting the important uses (and mis-uses) of grant funding in catalyzing the growth of social enterprises. "For many years, the field of impact investing played host to great debates that involved seemingly irreconcilable positions: Was it possible to achieve both market-rate financial returns and meaningful social impact? Could philanthropic funding coexist effectively with commercial investment? Now, as the field reaches a new stage of maturity, leading social finance organizations are developing models that bring greater sophistication to the work of evaluating investment options. These models, like the investors that create them, vary widely. But they reflect a shared commitment to moving beyond simple either-or choices-and to moving from broad questions to specific solutions. Omidyar Network has built a framework for pursuing investment opportunities that takes into account not only firm-level impact but also market-level impact." |
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Scaling Up Social Enterprise Innovations: Approaches and Lessons (Brookings Institution, June 2016)
Check out this recent working paper from Brookings that reviews frameworks and approaches for a systematic process of scaling up successful, sustainable development interventions, specifically social enterprise innovations that have demonstrated effective supply of social services for the poor. The paper provides a menu of approaches that can be used in assessing scale-up potential and supporting the scale-up process, and it draws lessons from practical experience, including case examples.
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Do you have anything press-worthy coming up? Let us know, by emailing us here.
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Help us help
you
promote your work! Send us communications materials, including photos, updates, achievements, job openings, etc. and we will push it out on our social media platforms like
Twitter
and
Facebook
using @GlobalDevLab #DIVUSAID. (Please note, our old Twitter handle, @DIVatUSAID, is no longer in use.)
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Let us know when you are in town - we'd love to meet with you! We're also happy to help you connect with others at USAID while you're here and (if interested) organize a brownbag for you to present on your work to a broader group of folks. Contact your AOR or
email
us.
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Do you have your own newsletter? Make sure to send it to
us
to help promote your updates!
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Do you have suggestions for how we can strengthen our newsletter?
Send
us your ideas, and resources. We appreciate your candor!
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Tell other social entrepreneurs about DIV and encourage them to apply
here
.
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