Skip navigation

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

Contributor.

Rob Katz

After co-founding NextBillion.net and spending 8-plus years working at the intersection of business and international development, Rob Katz is currently pursuing a MBA at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

 

Prior to Stanford, Rob was Acumen Fund’s Knowledge Manager, leading Acumen’s efforts to understand where markets work –and where they don’t – in terms of solving the problems of poverty. Most recently, he co-authored From Blueprint to Scale: The Case for Philanthropy in Impact Investing(Monitor Group and Acumen Fund, 2012.) In addition to writing reports, he was responsible for applied research and writing efforts across the firm; he also oversaw Acumen’s knowledge management systems.Rob joined Acumen Fund in 2008, managing online communications as well as knowledge before shifting full time into applied research work.

 

Before Acumen Fund, Rob worked with the Markets and Enterprise Program of the World Resources Institute, where he began his career researching, writing and speaking about “base of the pyramid” business approaches to poverty alleviation. At WRI, he co-founded www.NextBillion.net, a web site and blog about enterprise and development, and co-authored The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid (IFC and WRI, 2007).

 

Here at NextBillion, Rob is both a member of our Advisory Board and a contributor to the blog.

 

Rob earned his B.A. in Political Economy from Georgetown University.

 

Follow Rob on Twitter @robertkatz.

 

Articles by Rob Katz

  • Thursday
    October 23
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Pop!Tech: Bunker Roy on Scaling the Bottom of the Pyramid

    Outside, it is grey and rainy, but inside, the Camden library is warm and inviting.? Today’s special session merited an early arrival to Pop!Tech: Scaling the Bottom of the Pyramid, a 2-hour talk by longtime BoP innovators Paul Polak and Bunker Roy.Bill Gordon, a Pop!Tech board member,...

    Categories
    Education
    Tags
    academia

  • Tuesday
    October 21
    2008

    Rob Katz

    NextBillion Returns to Pop!Tech: Conference Preview

    Tomorrow morning, I return to Maine for the annual Pop!Tech conference.? For the second consecutive year, NextBillion.net will be live-blogging the event, which brings together 600+ thought leaders for three days of inspiring presentations, performances, discussions and declarations.? (I am...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Tuesday
    October 21
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Social Capital Markets: Three Key Takeaways

    All good things must come to an end, including NextBillion.net’s coverage of last week’s Social Capital Markets conference.? SoCap was a 72-hour firestorm of ideas, conversations, impromptu meetings and a lot of blog posts ? 22, to be precise.? But at the end of the day, what does it...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Monday
    October 20
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Social Capital Markets: Two Bucket Thinking – Two Bucket Standards?

    Guest blogger Graham Macmillan is the Senior Director of VisionSpring (formerly Scojo Foundation). In addition to his work with the VisionSpring team, Graham is pursuing his Global EMBA as part of TRIUM, which is a joint program of London School of Economics, HEC Paris, and NYU Stern. He also...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Monday
    October 20
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Social Capital Markets: Venture Philanthropy and International Government Investment

    Aden Van Noppen is a senior at Brown University where she studies International Development. She is also an intern for Acumen Fund, where she works to develop programs that teach college students about private sector solutions to poverty. Aden was formerly an intern for Dalberg Global...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Friday
    October 17
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Social Capital Markets: 10 Tips on Pitching Your Social Venture

    Guest blogger Jill Finlayson is the Marketing Manager of Social Edge, the leading online community by and for social entrepreneurs. ?She is a graduate of UC Berkeley, with a degree in Political Economy. ?This post first appeared on Social Edge. By Jill Finlayson Yesterday was Blog...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Friday
    October 17
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Social Capital Markets: Cindy Chen on Breaking Silos

    Guest blogger Cindy Chen is a 1st-year MBA student at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and is interested in helping businesses incorporate impactful social and environmental factors into the design of profitable strategies. Prior to Haas, Cindy worked on business development and...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Thursday
    October 16
    2008

    Rob Katz

    Social Capital Markets: The Future of Fair Trade

    Guest blogger Champa Gujjanudu is an 1st-year MBA student at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley with an emphasis in social impact consulting and community development. Prior to Haas, Champa was a Strategy Consultant with BearingPoint in the Bay Area and in New Zealand. She has held...

    Categories
    Uncategorized
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.
×
×