NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Call for Social Enterprise Profiles: Sharing Success Stories

Despite the passage of time, there is still no single accepted best practice or body of literature defining success in social enterprise. Documenting and sharing learning is a key mechanism that moves the industry forward and ultimately helps more low income producers and consumers. Enter the Social Enterprise Profiles.

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Friday?s Roundup – 9/3/10: Fareed Zakaria, VisionSpring, Business and Millenium Development Goals

Fareed Zakaria will host a conversation about business solutions for the base of the pyramid. Read about this event and more on this week’s Friday Roundup.

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Expanding the Market for Clean Energy in Rural India

As India struggles to provide cleaner and more reliable sources of energy to its rural poor, a growing number of innovative small companies, like SBA Hydro, are selling clean energy products and services directly to India’s rural ’Base of the Pyramid’ (BoP) population. This series introduces a new report that looks at this market in depth.

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Guest Post: Micro e-payments and Low-Cost Schooling in Kenya

Bridge International Academies is a new for-profit primary school franchise with big plans. It aims to build and manage low-cost schools, the kind that cost $4 per kid per month. One thing Bridge International Academies co-founder Phil Frei doesn’t want to handle is cash. Mobile payments have allowed this model to meet its growth goals.

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Guest Post: The Power of Unleashing Payments at the Base of the Pyramid

Imagine if every business or individual in a country had a convenient way of making small payments instantly to anyone, anywhere in the country. Far-fetched? Not at all, remember that mobile operators have a version of that running in every country...

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Kiva In Action: A Note from Peru

I recently had the opportunity to visit a micro entrepreneur in Peru whom I had made a loan to via Kiva. This post summarizes my experience.

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What if You Could Unlock the Potential of a Trillion-Dollar Housing Market?

Check out Ashoka’s "A New Alliance for Global Change" article in the September, 2010 issue of Harvard Business Review, where Ashoka CEO Bill Drayton and Full Economic Citizenship’s Chief Entrepreneur Valeria Budinich. Here’s how you can get a complimentary copy.

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Friday Roundup: “The Future We Make”

From the District of Columbia, to Colombia and back to Columbia, my new home. This is the first of what will be a weekly, Friday column offering a summary of noteworthy events, articles and resources for all of us into the Next Billion idea. Read about an upcoming TEDx event focused on the Millenium Development Goals.

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