NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Spring is slowly making its way to the northern hemisphere… very slowly some would say. As you put your winter clothes away and undust some lighter clothes for the the warm days ahead, you’re likely looking for your sunglasses as well.

I’d like to bring yor attention to an interesting fundraising campaign le by our friends and allies at VisionSpring. Check out the campaign here and consider supporting it with $160 or more. If you do, you’ll get a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. Not a bad deal and a great opportunity to support a trailblazing social enterprise! This campaign is part of Luxottica’s support to VisionSpring, as it makes strides to bring quality eye care to the poor around the globe.

Skoll World Forum

Today is the last day of the 2011 Skoll World Forum, which kicked off on Wednesday at Oxford University. SWF is arguably the most representative gathering around social entrepreneurship in the world. On Wednesday morning, Nilima and other members of the NextBillion staff participated in a conference call with several Ashoka representatives including Bill Drayton (founder & CEO), Iman Bibars (VP and Regional Representative, Ashoka Arab World), Felix Oldenburg (Ashoka Germany Director and speaker at Skoll World Forum), and two Ashoka Fellows-John Mighton (founder of JUMP) and Albina Ruiz (founder of Ciudad Saludable). Among the topics discussed were Ashoka’s involvement with the Skoll World Forum, Ashoka Globalizer, Ashoka Fellow involvement in Egypt, and the women’s movement in the Middle East. Stay tuned for a post early next week about this conversation and several wrap ups of the conversations happening at SWF.

ANDE Turns Two

Also worth underlining is the launch of ANDE’s second Annual Report, which was covered by Heather Esper earlier this week. Their new institutional video is phenomenal and, together with the data and analysis in the report, shows how far ANDE has come in facilitating the creation of global and local ecosystems for support of small and growing businesses, fundamental for enterprise-driven development strategies.

In case you missed it: NextBillion this week

• NexThought Monday: A New Movement – From Divergence to Convergence?, by Blair Miller
• Hart: Next-Generation BoP Requires a “Green Leap“, by Scott Anderson
• From Inventions to Ventures: NCIIA’s 2011 Open Minds Showcase, by Oscar Abello
• ANDE’s 2010 Impact Report Charts A Growth Course, by Heather Esper
• Guest Post: The World Bank Group, Palm Oil and Poverty, by Beth Gingold
• Inclusive Business and CSR – How To Grow Local Innovation Clusters? Reflections From Cali, by Martin Herrndorf
• Going to See ’To Catch A Dollar’? Tell Us What You Think, by Scott Anderson
• ViewChange Video of the Week: Burning In the Sun, by ViewChange LinkTV