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Entrepreneurship for Survival at the Base of the Pyramid
For those of us living in developed countries, the idea of entrepreneurship is very romantic and idealistic. It’s often thought of in the vein of "Making your dreams come true!" and "You can change the world!" I would almost go so far as to say that entrepreneurship as we know it in the developed world is a luxury. Not so in the developing world.
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Video Games for the Next Billion?
In an Associated Press article posted yesterday, Qualcomm announced its backing of a videogame startup targeting BoP markets. I heard about it in an e-mail from my father, who wrote under the subject line "tacky! tacky! tacky!".While my first instinct was to agree with his assessment, I’ve been thinking about it more and more.
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Future Untapped Opportunities: Female Population Increase in Asia
Before the end of 2008 I explained in one of my posts how improving gender equality can reduce poverty and stimulate growth. Back then I was puzzled to see that barely any business development initiatives had tried to improve women’s status. In this post I would like to point out how this demand is set to increase in the next few years.
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Eco-Friendly Innovations at the Base of the Pyramid
Q: What’s yellow, green and seen all over?A: The bright yellow, solar-powered ambulances of Ziqitza Healthcare (1298), an ambulance company serving low-income customers in Mumbai and Kerala, India.The solar ambulances are one of ten "Eco-Friendly Innovations" featured in a new photo essay on Forbes.com.
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Acumen’s Next Interns
This cost analysis hangs on a wall at in the Osembe Primary School, a concrete block building surrounded by rice fields not far from Lake Victoria.It was created by the members of the school Health Club, a group of precocious young kids I would love to see become interns in Acumen?s Nairobi office someday. It is not hard to imagine these kids
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Pushing the “Go Button”: Part 1
A year into living in Washington DC and working for WRI, I’d like to share a couple of stories that, in my view, reflect the courage it takes to push the "Go Button" and start becoming the change you want to see in the world.
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Acumen Fund Will Host Summer Student Leader Workshop
Young people today are not protesting or rioting?instead, we are proclaiming ourselves social entrepreneurs and actively searching for the best models to address poverty. This movement is brewing on campuses across the country and the world, including my own, and Acumen Fund wants to help us develop the skills and knowledge we need...
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Call for Papers: Impact of Base of the Pyramid Ventures
The "Impact of Base of the Pyramid Ventures" conference will be held November 16-18, 2009 in Delft, the Netherlands. The organizers have just released a call for papers. Abstracts are due May 15; full papers are due July 15.
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