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The Power of a Radically Affordable Irrigation Pump
One of the more transformative technologies ever developed for the world’s poor farmers is a water-lifting device called a treadle pump. It looks and operates much like a Stairmaster exercise machine that you’d find in a gym. But the dollar-a-day farmers who use these devices are not trying to lose pounds; they’re trying to gain them. More than 850 million people in the world today are chronically hungry. It is a sad irony that most of them live on farms, typically cultivating small plots in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Can SKS Change Its Spots?
After being the bad boy of microfinance, SKS is now trying to pick itself up and transform into a more cost-effective, diversified organization.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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How the Poor Cope with Crisis
A study incorporating many grassroots voices examines how poor people in developing countries coped with the recent shock of higher food and fuel prices.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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The Life-Changing Power of a Good Nap—And a Smart Business Plan
Yellow Leaf Hammocks, a rising socially conscious lifestyle brand, could have launched fast after its inspiring moment only to crash and burn. Yet smart planning and business sense gave the company the organic, slow-growth start that offers it the best shot at a sustainable future. Howyou run your company is just as important as why.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Greenlight Planet Inc. Raises 4mm USD from Bamboo Finance and Dr. P. K. Sinha
Greenlight Planet Inc. closed an investment round of 4mm USD with Bamboo Finance and Dr. P. K. Sinha, Co-Founder of ZS Associates. The current round follows earlier investments by Dr. Sinha.Greenlight Planet is a leading designer and distributor of solar-LED home lights, which are poised to replace kerosene lamps as the dominant indoor light source for the billion-plus people living without reliable access to an electrical grid, primarily in rural areas of the developing world.
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P&G Innovates on Razor-Thin Margins
If you shaved today, either in the U.S. or in India, you probably used a Gillette razor. Gillette (now a brand of P&G), reportedly has had a U.S. market share of more than 80%, with Schick a distant second. Even more remarkably, they achieved this without resorting to price competition. The blade cartridges for its latest-and-greatest razor, the top-selling Fusion ProGlide, retail for around $4 each, leaving Gillette with what must be incredibly lucrative gross margins.But that is not the story in developing markets, where these top-of-the-line products don't fare nearly as well.
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Microplanet Technologies Names Daryl Skoog, Former Head of Opportunity International MIS, as Executive Director
MicroPlanet brings together a world-class team of technology professionals to support microfinance sector
- Source
- Press Release
- Categories
- Education, Technology
- Tags
- microfinance
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World Bank picks health expert Kim as president
(Reuters) - The World Bank on Monday chose Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new president, maintaining Washington's grip on the job and leaving developing countries questioning the selection process.Kim, 52, won the job over Nigeria's widely respected finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, with the support of Washington's allies in Western Europe, Japan, Canada and some emerging market economies, including Russia, Mexico and South Korea.Unlike previous World Bank elections, the decision was not unanimous. "The final nominees received support from different member countries, which reflected the high caliber of the candidates," the Bank said in announcing its board's decision.