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Dr. Yunus Inspires Students to Create Social Businesses
Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus brought to Georgia his vision for students to create businesses that would help alleviate some of the state’s most intractable social problems. And the visit has prompted the University System of Georgia to establish a fund to help finance student-inspired projects inspired by Dr. Yunus’ social business model. The fund was launched as a result of an economic development conference includin...
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Can Venture Capital Save The World?
Bahawalpur in eastern Pakistan is known for magnificent palaces built during the British Raj, but in the dusty part of town where most of the 400,000 residents actually live, four dozen farmers have gathered in the decidedly unpalatial concrete building that houses the local branch of the National Rural Support Programme Bank. Their darkened, sun-creased faces testify to the toll of tilling soil in one of the hotter places on Earth (at 11 a.m. in mid-June it’s alread...
- Region
- South Asia
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Four Companies Announce New Ventures to Promote Clean Energy
New York, Durban, 28 November 2011 -More than 12 million low-income people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America will gain access to clean energy following four companies’ commitments made today to the Business Call to Action , a global leadership initiative that promotes sustainable economic and social development. The companies also expect to create approximately 42,000 environmentally sustai...
- Categories
- Education
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Grads Do ’Good’ for a Profit
At first blush, it looks as though M.B.A.s aren’t doing much "good" upon graduation. Despite the fact that students sign up en masse for social-entrepreneurship classes, intern at nonprofits and participate in charitable extracurricular activities, fewer than 5% of graduates from many top business schools take jobs in nonprofit organizations right out of school, with some institutions placing just 1% or 2% in the field. Even the Yale School of Management, which has built a reputatio...
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China Raises Poverty Line: Is it Setting an Example for Poverty Alleviation?
China announced a new standard for defining poverty on Tuesday as it seeks to bridge the gap between the country’s wealthier and poorer classes. The central authorities have decided to raise the poverty threshold to 2,300 yuan ($362), in terms of a farmer’s annual net income, which marks an 80 percent rise from the 1,274 yuan standard in 2010. The 2010 figure was itself the result of marked revision; the standard was 206 yu...
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Social Enterprises See Funding Dip, but Investors Still Upbeat
The value of investments in India’s social enterprises has fallen by around 7% this year as investors struggle to identify companies that not only cater to the bottom of the pyramid by offering products and services at the right price points, but also provide sustainable returns for investors. Excluding microfinance institutions (MFIs), the investor-backed six social enterprises have put in $21.6 million (around Rs.112.5 crore) this year so far, compared with eight such investments ...
- Region
- South Asia
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Tata PE Buys 10% in Ginger Hotels
MUMBAI: Tata Capital’s private equity fund has acquired a 10% stake in Roots Corporation, which runs budget hotel chain Ginger. The stake-purchase in Ginger was completed by the $550 million Tata Opportunities Fund and it marks the one-year-old fund’s debut investment, said sources familiar with the matter. Tata Opportunities Fund, spearheaded by Mukund Rajan, is a third party private equity fu...
- Region
- South Asia
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Caterpillar Foundation Partners With Water.org to Expand WaterCredit in India, Indonesia
PEORIA, Ill., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT ) today announced that the Caterpillar Foundation and Water.org announced a $3 million partnership to reach more than 218,000 people with clean water and sanitation over the next three years. The program will support a significant expansion of Water.org’s WaterCredit activities in India, and also fund a mark...
- Region
- South Asia
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