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Web 2.0 Ventures Reaching Out to the Base of the Pyramid
As the week winds down I wanted to share a note?about a couple of interesting Web 2.0 ventures relevant to the base of the pyramid community. Two social networks have launched recently, aiming to connecting people and ideas around the role of business and entrepreneurship against poverty and...
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Pop!Tech: Brian McCarthy Builds Dream Homes for the Base of the Pyramid
Brian McCarthy wants to live in a shipping container ? seriously.? And based on what I?ve seen of his work, I would be thrilled to live in one, too.? McCarthy is the founder of PFNC, a manufacturer and provider of affordable housing. PFNC stands for Por Fin, Nuestra Casa ? a Spanish...
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Ignore the Price Tag
The initial $100 price tag of the XO Laptop from Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) created quite a furor when it was first announced three years ago. At the time, the cheapest laptops were hovering around $400 to $500.This subject has been rehashed many times in the press...
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Pop!Tech: Paul Polak on Scaling the Bottom of the Pyramid
Paul Polak is wearing a sweater vest.? This will come as no surprise to anyone who?s met him or seen him speak.? The man loves sweaters ? cardigans, sweater vests, pullovers.? Hell, in Camden today ? with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees in the midday sun ? Paul?s sweater...
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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,...
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An ?Easy? Step-by-Step Guide to Mobile Banking
Last July CGAP issued a new report about the main building blocks for any bank that is thinking about offering mobile phone financial services to its customers. (Shame on me for doing this post so late). Banking on Mobiles: Why, How, for Whom? is, not surprisingly, very good report. After...
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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...
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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...
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