The business case for buying less, but good stuff
I dare you: Can you buy nothing for a whole day? I know it sounds tough, but this was the idea behind the first day of No Impact Week at the IDB – No Consumption Day.
Impact Investing: Does intent matter?
Impact investing in Latin America and the Caribbean was highlighted at the the IDB’s annual meeting in Bahía, Brazil. One of the first sessions of the day began with the story of a loan officer evaluating the credit profile of “Helena” – an intelligent, ambitious student seeking a university loan and representing many others like her in the region. Thanks to a bank loan, "Helena" would have a chance to further her education and strengthen her economic opportunities. But is this impact investing?
Bring your own WHAT to class???
Seguir a @BIDSecPriv BYOD, not to be confused with BYOB, stands for Bring Your Own Device and is an emerging trend in education. With the penetration rate of mobile and other devices skyrocketing both globally and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), many youngsters are simply inseparable from their devices. The number of mobile subscriptions was estimated to reach the seven billion mark in 2013, higher than the human population (Faille & Morrison, 2013).
Smart Energy for a Sustainable Future
Seguir a @BIDSecPriv My life began in a small town and has taken me to many fascinating places – Dusseldorf, Caracas, Santiago and Washington, DC, among them. My journey has taught me a lot about sustainability as it relates to both individual lifestyle decisions and business decisions. There are several trends that piqued my interest in energy and sustainability.
Three lessons from the German "Mittelstand"
Can Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) be inspired by the the German “Mittelstand”? In Germany, the “Mittelstand,” or small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, is thriving. A conference last week in Stuggart, Germany, hosted by the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e. V.), an umbrella association that represents sector associations, firms and millions of workers, highlighted investment opportunities for SMEs. What I uncovered while participating on the Mittelstand panel were several salient linkages to LAC’s SME and green growth sectors.
Wish there were more hours in the day? Distance learning can maximize time and earning potential
Doesn’t it always seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day? How can we possibly fit it all in? The same is true for young people in Latin America and the Caribbean - especially those in lower income or vulnerable communities. For the high school graduates, many aren’t able to go directly to university for financial, family or other reasons. For example, Estacio, a large private university in Brazil, estimates that approximately 40% of high school graduates in Brazil go directly to university. Many others start a job, or a family or both.