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Merging Self-help and Microfinance, Indian Activist Empowers Poor Farmers and Women
Mohandas Gandhi famously articulated the idea of the "self-sufficient village," in which poor villagers run their own lives and help each other reach a higher, more dignified standard of living. Through unconventional means, activist Nileema Mishra is trying to make this vision a reality in rural India. Early in her career, Nileema veered away from the established activist model of competing for...
- Region
- South Asia
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Green Businesses in Developing World Get $60M Boost, Along With Microfinance
The International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, is launching a $60 million equity financing mechanism to "promote homegrown green innovation in developing countries while encouraging the transfer of clean technologies from developed countries to developing countries." The Cleantech Innovation Facility will help small, highly innovative start-up companies that offer products or services that mitigate carbon emissions. It will n...
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America
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Citi India Partners 12 NGOs for Economic Empowerment Projects
Citi India has partnered with 12 NGO’s in 2011 and committed nearly Rs 100 million in grants across these NGO’s for promoting economic empowerment in India. Since 1999, Citi has supported projects with over 22 NGOs across the country. During this period, Citi-funded programs have benefited more than 1.65 million economically disadvantaged families by way of enterprise development, youth education and livelihoods, financial capability and asset building, and microfinance. C...
- Region
- South Asia
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Malaria Scientist Celebrates Success After 24 Years
For Joe Cohen, a GlaxoSmithKline research scientist who has spent 24 years trying to create the world's first malaria vaccine, Tuesday, October 18, 2011 goes down as a fabulous day.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- solar
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International Medical Corps Helps Haiti in its Long Haul
International Medical Corps is a model for global not-for-profits, with a plan that goes way beyond drop-in disaster relief. In Haiti, IMC is training locals, building communities, and doing everything it can to put itself to pasture. Dan Khodabakhsh doesn’t require a whole lot of sleep. It’s perfectly normal, in fact, for the 33-year-old doctor to work a double shift bandaging up drunks and pulling bullets from teenagers in the emergency room of UCLA’s Harbor Medical Center...
- Region
- Latin America
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Why We Prefer Social Enterprises and Co-ops as Business Partners
At HCT Group, we believe that social enterprises and co-ops make natural business partners. When the time comes to find a new supplier, we will always ask if a social enterprise or a co-op can fit the bill. The recent publication from Social Enterprise UK, Fightback Britain showed that 29% of all social enterprises receive some work from other social enterprises. We would have hoped that that number...
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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How Businesses Can Excel as the Poor Shift to Buying in Small Packs
My colleague expressed shock at the price of packaged mushrooms in supermarkets in Eastlands compared to those in Westlands in Nairobi. The price for the same product was almost double in Eastlands compared to Westlands. She was surprised at the pricing logic, but this is just a poverty penalty. I explained that the rich always pay less than the poor in many circumstances. Micro finance institutions charge higher interest rates for loans than mainstream banks while shylocks ...
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Women Seen Key to Solving Hunger Issues in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting problems staving off famine in coming decades but food and development experts also say one solution to the problem is obvious: empower women. "They are the major producers of food crops in Africa. If we want to make a real headway on food production, we should be able to invest in women, improve their skills and access to the inputs they require," said Namanga Ngongi, president, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a top seed producer. ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa