NextBillion - A WDI Publication

CGAP?s Microfinance Photography Contest Now Open

CGAP is now accepting entries to their Microfinance Photography Contest. Deadline is on August 14th!

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An Open Letter to the Development Posse: Lighten Up Already!

The Development Posse needs to lighten up. Nothing works as planned. Thinking it should leads to whining, drama and trying to make water run uphill. When stuff inevitably happens, make the course correction and acknowledge it. Our job is to be less sincere, less certain, more agnostic and do those few things that eliminate barriers to choice.

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Low-cost housing in Mumbai: A market at the base of the pyramid?

Estimates suggest that India has a shortfall of more than 25 million low-cost or affordable houses. The result is sprawling slums that ring some of the country’s largest cities and a bewildering maze of tenement buildings in which three-generations-under-one-roof-families jostle for space and privacy in spaces of 150 square feet and above. As Supriya Menon said recently, they say it is easy to find everything in Mumbai except for a house ( BBC , 15 June). Just lik...

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CSR Asia (link opens in a new window)

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Base of the Pyramid, housing

A Lesson Learned

In this article, I discuss the importance of disruptive business models, using the success of the Amazon Kindle as a disruptive innovation and business model to the publishing world. Unfortunately, what once could have been a device that could have had a significant impact to the BoP, is now another gadget for the well-to-do.

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Notes From the Field: The Future of Healthcare Part II

Last week, I stood in a room in India where perhaps 15 women in clean-room garb were assembling point-of-use rapid diagnostic kits. These were pregnancy tests, but the company makes similar diagnostic kits for malaria, dengue, hepatitis, HIV, glucose levels, etc.; more than 30 in all. But that’s only part of the story.

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Unlocking the Creative Potential of the “Next Billion”: Idea Competitions at the Base of the Pyramid

What are concrete methods to make co-creation / innovation from the bottom-up happen? The recent popularity of competitions seems to offer an interesting method. Interesting, fun and popular as they are, the case still seems to be that they do not capture much attention when the challenge at hand requires them to take place at the BoP.

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SOCAP09: So What? 3 Reasons Why You Need to Be There

Yes, another social enterprise conference is around the corner, and you’re thinking, "Do I really need to be there?" I hear you. Well, SOCAP09 is coming up and I AM going, so in the interest of transparency, here are the 3 reasons why you need to be there, too.

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E+Co’s Invisible Schoolhouse and the (Online) BoP Ecosystem

E+Co, a leading clean energy investor for the BoP, recently announced the launch of their latest initiative, the Invisible Schoolhouse. When I learned of it, I was reminded of several other online portals connecting entrepreneurs, experts, consumers, and more.

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