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Wi-Fi Phones ? a Piece of the Rural Connectivity Puzzle
Wi-Fi phones are taking off! According to a report by Infonetics Research, the global market for Wi-Fi phones rose 76 percent in 2005 to $102.5 million, and will reach $1.9 billion in 2009. The number of units shipped rose 112 percent last year, and will increase by 158 percent this year. These...
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Divestment in Sudan: A Quandary Quartet
A week ago David Wheeler published an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail in which he argues that it is illogical and even arrogant to call for divestment of Sudan, as have done many activists and scholars, notably Eric Reeves? and Peter Kinder.?...
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Revisit San Francisco in Today’s Wall Street Journal
Attendees of 2004?s Eradicating Poverty Through Profit conference may have only dim memories of the 3-day BOP bonanza (flashes of Scott Shuster, anyone?), but not me. Which brings me to today?s Wall Street Journal, whose front page featured 3 conference speakers in an article entitled...
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GlobalGiving Seeks Projects to Fund
While browsing through the booths at last week?s Development Marketplace (DM), I rediscovered an organization that had been inspired by the competition. GlobalGiving was founded by the same World Bank executives who created the Development Marketplace in 2000. Encouraged by its initial...
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Another Competition, Another Missed Opportunity
The World Bank?s Development Marketplace (DM) competition took place in Washington this week. Begun in 1998, and held in DC about once every 18 months, DM is ?a competitive grant program that funds innovative, small-scale development projects that deliver results and show potential to be...
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A New Model for Rural Connectivity
What if the ultimate Internet access device turned out to be a phone? Yes, its already happening for a few in the rich world, but I’m talking about access for a billion people or more in the developing world, for which the driver is cost, not convenience. Despite all the efforts to spread...
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A New Water Filter, An Old Debate
The BBC reported last week about a new device being marketed to purify water in developing countries. The LifeStraw looks like a large plastic flute, and contains internal filters that remove bacteria from the water as it is drunk. The device is priced at around $3.50, and is designed to purify...
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Yakking It Up at the BOP in China
Yaks for development? Withhold judgment and read on ? this BOP project has legs (4, in fact). NextBillion ally Carol Chyau doesn?t think yak jokes are funny ? with a partner, she?s behind the newly-formed Yashmere and Cheese for Change for-profit social enterprises. The Harvard Crimson...
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