NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The Women Bringing Solar Power to Sierra Leone

A group of 12 women from villages in Sierra Leone is in the frontline of a battle to bring solar-powered electricity to rural communities. No small feat, given that rural Sierra Leone is not connected to power. The women were all trained at Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan, in western ...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

9 Million Indian Microfinance Clients Crossed $1.25 a Day Threshold

Counting the net number of people who crossed from below the USD 1.25 a day consumption in India between 1990 and 2010, a study by India Development Foundation (IDF) shows that nearly 9 million Indian households involved in microfinance - including approximately 45 million family members moved above USD 1.25 threshold during the last two decades. According to the IDF report which was released by the Microcredit Summit Campaign, a program of the US-based advocacy group RESULTS Educationa...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

In Bangledesh, ADBB, IDB Loans to Fill In Huge Power Deficit

Bangladesh will soon be developing new sources of sustainable energy, thanks to loans totaling $581 million from the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. This is expected to fill in the country’s huge power deficit, as almost half of the population does not have access to electricity. The ADB will provide $300 million for the construction of a new natural gas-fueled power station to replace a...

Source

Devex News (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Solar Light Bulb Sheds Light on Social Entre?pre?neur?ship Model

Problems facing the developing world are wide-ranging and include the need for potable water, adequate food and efficient, affordable lighting. Inventor Stephen Katsaros’s solar-powered light bulb may go a long way towards fixing the last of those three. Katsaros created a solar light bulb that uses the sun’s rays to charge a battery-powered LED light supply for roughly four hours. The battery, which is replaceable, lasts roughly 300-500 charges, while the product itself c...

Source

The Washington Post (link opens in a new window)

Microfinance Gets Lending Boost with RBI Nod to Crowdsourcing

India’s microlending sector has got a significant nudge with the central bank giving its first nod to a crowdsourcing company to attract small loans from abroad for the country’s poor. Following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval, individuals or institutions from anywhere in the world can use Milaap’s online platform to identify whom they want to lend to, widely expanding the capital source for the company. They can extend as little as Rs.1,000 to fund someone...

Source

livemint.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Ross Establishes India Initiatives under Faculty Director M.S. Krishnan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-Dean Alison Davis-Blake has established the Ross School of Business India Initiatives and appointed M.S. Krishnan as faculty director. Krishnan is the Joseph Handleman Professor of Business Information Technology and a Hallman Research Fellow at Ross. The India Initiatives comprise, but are not limited to, the C.K. Prahalad Initiative and the Center for Global Resource Leverage: India. As faculty director of India Initiatives, Krishnan will report to Associate Dean for ...

Source

Michigan Ross School of Business (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Social Enterprise Spotlight: Portable Solar Lighting

"How many _____ does it take to change a light bulb," may no longer be just a joke. In inventing the LuminAID Light , a solar powered portable device, Andrea Sreshta and Anna Stock have created a possible alternative to Thomas Edison’s 1879 electric discovery that has the potential to change, not only the light bulb, but also the world. It is no wonder that they are one of the three social entrepreneur finalists for the ...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Business Incubator for Marginalised Youths Debuts

In 10 years from now, 40 million Nigerians will become job seekers, and most of them would be unskilled hands. What do we do with these job seekers? Generation Enterprise (GEN) raised this question last week in Lagos. It is GEN’s mandate to solve this problem. GEN, a model that provides an end-to-end solution to youth poverty and unemployment, brought leaders in Nigeria’s public, private, and social sectors together in Lagos to tackle the related issues of youth unemployment and...

Source

Business Day (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa