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Raikes steps down as CEO of Gates Foundation
Former Microsoft exec Jeff Raikes said Tuesday that he would step down as the chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, theoretically freeing himself up as Microsoft searches for a new CEO.
- Tags
- philanthropy
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Bank? What bank? Orange, Visa and the changing face of Africa’s mobile money
While relatively few Africans have a bank account, companies are finding new ways to offer consumers bank-type services just using mobile devices.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NextDrop Uses Big Data, Texting To Improve Water Distribution
The proliferation of mobile-supported business models in India is substantial. Given its ubiquity amongst lower-income groups, mobile technology is recognized as a maximum impact tool, particularly for grassroots data collection. This “tech” model of social entrepreneurship has become the norm not only in India, but also in other emerging markets throughout Asia, Africa and South America.Case in point: NextDrop, a social enterprise launched in 2011, is simplifying urban water collection in India. With its “Smart Grid ‘Lite’” solution, the enterprise collects and shares water delivery information with city residents and water utilities. In this way, efficiency and transparency are improved upon.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- public health
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Developing Healthier Habits
Health-care companies facing a host of profit-threatening conditions—such as pricing pressures, patent expirations and sluggish economic growth in mature markets—are beginning to build some immunity by boosting their exposure to the developing world.According to Julia Giguere, a senior analyst who covers the health-care sector for MSCI ESG Research in Boston, developing countries are experiencing stronger economic and population growth than the developed world. They also boast rising middle classes and they increasingly need products that can address shifting disease burdens.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- impact investing
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Universal health coverage within reach for developing countries
Once seen as a distant objective, economic growth and political will are now bringing universal health coverage within reach for the developing world. But great financial and social challenges still remain to be addressed before the vision becomes reality, EurActiv France reports.Developing countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa are quickly catching up with European healthcare standards, although it will take nearly half a century before all can provide comparable treatments.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
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The funds cashing in on the global healthcare crisis
Healthcare and biotechnology companies have had a storming few years on a global scale, with the UK pharmaceutical sector getting in on the action this year too.The FTSE World Healthcare Index has made 71.49 per cent over the past three years, according to data from FE Analytics, with the FTSE World index, which includes stocks from all sectors, up 38.59 per cent.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
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The Best Of Both Worlds
A frail looking Mini Shaji sits on a bed in the corner of the general ward of AyurVaid’s hospital in Bengaluru. Wearing a brick red nightgown, Shaji’s painfully thin frame looks devoid of all energy, but there is a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Six months back, the 36-year-old Shaji, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, could not move without the help of a walking stick. A friend directed her to the AyurVaid centre at Ramamurthy Nagar. After 10 days of in-patient treatment, Shaji can now walk slowly without a stick. Though still weak, she’s now hopeful that the weight she lost because of her ailment will be regained too.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- public health
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Vijayan launches Charioteer Fund-I impact investment fund
Krishnamurthy Vijayan, the former executive chairman of JP Morgan Asset Management India, has launched an impact investment fund that will invest in India's livelihood and skills development space. The Rs 250-crore fund, Charioteer Fund-I, will be a five-year fund with an extension of a further five years, and will look to invest between Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 crore in micro-enterprise clusters.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- public health