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The Tradeoff Between Growth and Innovation Part 2
This post is the continuation of my previous one last Monday. Just as it was posted, Robert Katz sent me an email with the following question:"That BOP firms, to be competitive, don’t have to be innovative in the same way that Western firms do makes sense. But what about Western firms...
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Conference Report: The Private Sector’s Role in Latin America
On Tuesday, I went to Georgetown University to attend a high-profile panel on “The Role of the Private Sector in the Competitiveness of the Latin American Region.” The line-up of panelists included three former presidents (Vicente Fox - Mexico, Alejandro Toledo ? Peru, Jose Maria...
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A Lesson for BoP Technologists: Put the Business Model First
A recent Wall Street Journal article documents the demise of Nicolas Negroponte?s dream of a $100 “one laptop per child” for millions of schoolchildren in the developing world. (Thanks to Ethan Zuckerman for pointing it out.)? To give Negroponte his due, the idea stimulated...
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Are Pedicabs a Bottom of the Pyramid Business Model?
Over on The City Fix, author Benjamin de la Pena discusses? what a post-car future might look like - and he thinks it looks like a pedicab. Also called cycle rickshaws, pedicabs are green (human-powered) alternatives to motorbikes and cars, to be sure. But are they a “bottom of the...
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The Tradeoff Between Growth and Innovation at the BOP
Businesspeople tend to prefer predictable business environments to work in. However, in developing countries, business environments tend to be more unstable than in Western markets because of various unpredictable social, economic and political changes. Since business plans depend on...
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American Thanksgiving Break – Back on Monday
For those of us in the United States, tonight marks a tradition - the tradition of Thanksgiving traffic.? This is especially true on the eastern seaboard, where air and car traffic get particularly bad as families attempt to gather and celebrate the holiday. So, since NextBillion.net is...
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The Mobile Data Wave Begins
A new report from Vodafone shows that data revenue topped 1 billion pounds this past year, not including text messaging revenues. Moreover, data revenues grew 49% over a year ago, compared with 7% for voice and 9% for messaging. Think of this as a measure of the growing use of internet-based...
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Acumen Fund Launches New Web Site, Fellows Blog
Time to update your RSS feeds: Acumen Fund has launched a new, RSS-compatible web site (the site is a re-design of their previous effort).? In addition to being syndication-friendly, the new site is rich with stories, photos, videos and lots of dynamic content.? I like how they’ve...
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