Omidyar Network is a venture of The Omidyar Group
Research Report
Exploration & Future Sensing: Trends to Watch in 2019 & Beyond
What if you could extend your life, feel like you’re 40 when you’re actually 80; but you’d have to make yourself less human in the process — would you do it? What about micro-dosing LSD, would you take a potent hallucinogen and mind-alterer, risking your mental balance, to treat your depression and anxiety? Would you pay for YouTube followers to secure a sponsorship deal, so you could become a star that connects genuinely to your generation?
Exploration & Future Sensing: Trends to Watch in 2019 & Beyond
What if you could extend your life, feel like you’re 40 when you’re actually 80; but you’d have to make yourself less human in the process — would you do it? What about micro-dosing LSD, would you take a potent hallucinogen and mind-alterer, risking your mental balance, to treat your depression and anxiety? Would you pay for YouTube followers to secure a sponsorship deal, so you could become a star that connects genuinely to your generation?
Scaling Access & Impact: Realizing the Power of EdTech
There are 250 million learners around the world who have finished their schooling – yet aren’t able to read or write well and lack the skills they will need to succeed in the 21st century. The Brookings Institute described a 100-year gap, the century it will take for the world’s poor children to achieve educational parity with the wealthy at today’s pace.
Scaling Access & Impact: Realizing the Power of EdTech
There are 250 million learners around the world who have finished their schooling – yet aren’t able to read or write well and lack the skills they will need to succeed in the 21st century. The Brookings Institute described a 100-year gap, the century it will take for the world’s poor children to achieve educational parity with the wealthy at today’s pace.
Digital Identification: A Key to Inclusive Growth
In new research, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) develops a framework to understand the potential economic impact of digital ID, informed by an analysis of nearly 100 ways in which digital ID can be used, with deep dives into seven diverse economies. The potential for economic value creation could be significant as “good” digital ID increases inclusion, formalization, and transparency while promoting digitization, however risks need to be addressed.
Big Ideas, Little Learners: Early Childhood Trends Report
There is no question that the past 50 years have seen major progress in practices for young children and families. In addition, tremendous breakthroughs in brain science have clearly established why the early years are so critical in a young child’s development.
Credit Disrupted: Digital MSME Lending in India
India’s 60 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) make an enormous contribution both to India’s employment and its gross domestic product (GDP). However, India has yet to reach its potential, lagging 10 percentage points behind the US and 23 points behind China in GDP contribution.
Beyond Trade-offs
As the impact investing industry has grown, so too has the polarized debate about whether there is a trade-off between financial return and impact. Some …
10 Strategies for Building Innovation Ecosystems in Early Stage Markets
Technology has the potential to have a dramatic impact on developing countries. The cost of connectivity and components has fallen significantly, while the power and utility of technology have massively increased. In critical sectors like health and education to financial inclusion and open government there is an opportunity for poorer countries to perform a “digital leapfrog”: to use technology to accelerate growth and development.
The Missing Middles
Small and growing businesses (SGBs) contribute to significant positive impact in emerging economies – creating jobs, driving inclusive economic growth, sparking innovative technologies, and providing underserved populations access to essential goods and services – but they struggle to access the capital they need to reach their full potential. According to the International Finance Corporation, SGBs in emerging markets face a $930 billion financing gap. Many are stuck squarely in the “missing middle”: too big for microfinance, too small or risky for traditional bank lending, and lack the growth, return, and exit potential sought by venture capitalists.