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Join the Debate: 1:1 vs. Shared Access Computing
Infodev and UNESCO have developed a new discussion and debate forum to explore the role of ICT in learning in developing countries. Called the Educational Technology Debate, it promotes a multi-week discussion over one month with two participants debating two sides of an argument, and additional user comments supporting or refuting either side.
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Making Better Investments at the Base of the Pyramid: A Framework for Impact Assessment
In "Making Better Investments at the Base of the Pyramid," Ted London of the University of Michigan points out that even though most ventures serving the world’s poor have feel-good stories and data on milestones, most of them lack a systematic way to assess how well they’re reaching the people they set out to serve.
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Advancing Young Research on the “Next Billion”
What are the hot academic debates on how to reach out the Base of the Pyramid and "grow inclusive markets?? How can young researchers, in their PhD or early faculty life, use innovative research tools to crack these nuts? And how can they make their insights relevant for practitioners?
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Have you Been to Changemakers Lately? It’s About Time
Changemakers is one of the web’s most dynamic and interesting destinations for those of us interested in ideas and their power to advance tangible change in the lives of the "next billion". Its recent re-design and the upcoming finals for one of their competitions (one very much in the vein of development through enterprise) are compelling...
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Breaking News: Husk Power Systems Wins $250K Venture Competition
Husk Power Systems, a company we profiled here on NextBillion back in October, was announced today as the winner of the Global Business Plan competition sponsored by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems. As the winning entrant, Husk Power walks away with $250,000 in seed funding, which they will use to build and operate more power plants...
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Social Capital Markets 09: Go to “Woodstock” with a 40% Discount
Well, there won’t be half a million of us, but as Bill Baue noted in a recent CSR Wire article, the Social Capital Markets conference (2009 vintage) is quickly shaping up to be an important event for our generation of changemakers, investors, intrapreneurs, policymakers and innovators.
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Microfinance: An Open-Book Blog
Occasionally one encounters a novel application of a familiar technology. In this case, it’s blogging. David Roodman, fellow at the Center for Global Development and architect of the Commitment to Development Index , is currently writing an open-book blog about microfinance. He writes a chapter then posts it for comment and critique.
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Yes, Microfinance has Positive Effects on the Poor
Even though microfinance is estimated to have directly reached 100 million of the poor in 2008 there is still plenty of debate about whether it has a significant impact on their lives. A series of recent World Bank studies conclusively shows that microfinance has a positive economic and social impact on participants and non-participants.
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