Contributor.

John Paul
World Resources Institute

John is a Research Analyst with Development through Enterprise, a project of WRI’s Sustainable Growth in Emerging Economies objective. His reseach centers on quantifying how businesses can serve basic human needs in low-income communities.

As a developer and moderator of Nextbillion.net, John writes extensively on private sector strategies for poverty alleviation. He also consults for USAID’s Last Mile Initiative, and has spent a year living in India working for n-Logue Communications, an IIT-incubated business that is setting up wirelessly connected franchised Internet kiosks throughout the country.

John graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1999 with a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy.

Articles by John Paul

  • John Paul

    The Latest on the $100 Laptop

    Since it was announced in April of last year, MIT’s One Laptop per Child initiative has received a great deal of media attention, as well as some healthy skepticism. Questions were raised about the $100 laptop on NextBillion here and here. I hadn’t heard much recently about the project...

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  • John Paul

    Attitudinal Barrier to Microfinance

    I just read a news story describing how microfinance schemes in Ghana (and the banks providing them) are being undermined by a refusal to repay loans. According to the article, “The microfinance programme, which is the bedrock of rural banks, is being thwarted due to the attitude of some...

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  • John Paul

    This Week in SME Investing

    I?ve just posted up several recent news stories about financing for SME development. Most of these came from the Business in Development Network, which promotes poverty reduction through entrepreneurship in developing countries. The group maintains a great newsroom for those interested in...

    Categories
    Education
    Tags
    academia
  • John Paul

    Innovation Blowback

    In his 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen showed that an upstart with an innovation that disrupts existing business models can beat out the big guys nearly every time. What’s more, he said, venerable companies seal their doom by...

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  • John Paul

    Wi-Fi Phones ? a Piece of the Rural Connectivity Puzzle

    Wi-Fi phones are taking off! According to a report by Infonetics Research, the global market for Wi-Fi phones rose 76 percent in 2005 to $102.5 million, and will reach $1.9 billion in 2009. The number of units shipped rose 112 percent last year, and will increase by 158 percent this year. These...

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  • John Paul

    GlobalGiving Seeks Projects to Fund

    While browsing through the booths at last week?s Development Marketplace (DM), I rediscovered an organization that had been inspired by the competition. GlobalGiving was founded by the same World Bank executives who created the Development Marketplace in 2000. Encouraged by its initial...

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  • John Paul

    Another Competition, Another Missed Opportunity

    The World Bank?s Development Marketplace (DM) competition took place in Washington this week. Begun in 1998, and held in DC about once every 18 months, DM is ?a competitive grant program that funds innovative, small-scale development projects that deliver results and show potential to be...

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  • John Paul

    A New Water Filter, An Old Debate

    The BBC reported last week about a new device being marketed to purify water in developing countries. The LifeStraw looks like a large plastic flute, and contains internal filters that remove bacteria from the water as it is drunk. The device is priced at around $3.50, and is designed to purify...

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