Stanford Social Innovation Review

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus aims for a more just society for all.

Polak offers entrepreneurial solutions to poverty in Asia and Africa.

In new democracies, right-leaning elections attract foreign investors.

Why grassroots design will determine the winners in developing markets.
by Joshua Weissburg

Toxic environments knock impoverished kids’ systems out of kilter.

The former president shares how ordinary citizens are helping to solve our big problems.

Despite temptations to broaden its focus, the Rural Development Institute has remained single-mindedly devoted to its mission. As a result, the organization has helped 400 million poor farmers around the world take ownership of some 270 million acres of land – all on a modest budget.

How an ecotourism company and a native community share power in Peru.

Few microfinance institutions articulate what, exactly, their ultimate goals are and how to achieve them. If the goal of microfinance is to alleviate poverty, the authors say, then MFIs should focus on helping their clients build successful enterprises, rather than on making more and bigger loans.

Social entrepreneurs not only must understand the broad environment in which they work, but also must shape those environments to support their goals, when feasible. Borrowing insights from the field of ecology, the authors offer an ecosystems framework to help social entrepreneurs create long-lasting and significant social change.