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

Maternova Employs Technology to Create New Solutions to the Age-old Problem of Maternal Mortality

One of the oldest, most respected professions in the world is midwifery. And yet, midwives working in developing countries often lack simple resources like electric lights and towels. Meg Wirth founded the web-based startup Maternova, which provides vital obstetric tools and information to midwives and maternity hospitals around the world. Founded in 2009, the mission-driven for-profit venture aims to use the data-dissemination powers of technology to reach maternity care workers most in need...

Source

Dowser (link opens in a new window)

College Students Focus on Social Issues in Dell Challenge

What do you get when you take socially aware, highly motivated and innovative college students and ask them to help solve a pressing social or environmental problem? You get some downright creative and possibly world-changing ideas via the Dell Social Innovation Challenge (DSIC). The Dell Social Innovation Challenge was launched five years ago and in that time, hundreds of thousands have dollars have been awarded to teams of college students to help solve a persistent social or e...

Source

Mother Nature Network (link opens in a new window)

Credit Flow to Smaller Farmers Has Not Reached Sufficiently: Indian Finance Minister

Union Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee recently addressing the Meeting of the Board of Directors of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) said that the rural Bank should deploy new technology, innovate and create financially viable models that can take forward the process of financial inclusion. He said that the primary expectation of the nation from banks, including NABARD, in the next decade was to eradicate financial exclusion. He stated that the big...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Switching On: Africa’s Vast New Tech Opportunity

This article was taken from the August 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired’s articles in print before they’re posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online . In 2011, visitors to Africa looking for war, famine and pestilence have to dig a lot deeper than in the past. At Nairo...

Source

Wired (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Bringing Light to the Poor, One Liter at a Time [Video]

A bottled liter of water with a few teaspoons of bleach is proving to be a successful recipe for dwellers in the light-deprived slums of the Philippines. The simple technology is spreading sunlight in places where it has never been, and saving residents money at the same time. Gemma Haines reports. ...

Source

Reuters (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education

Region

Asia Pacific

Poor Countries Set to Benefit from Patent Agreement on Aids Drugs

People with HIV in poor countries have a real prospect of obtaining not just the basic, cheap drugs to keep the virus at bay, but some of the best medicines that are on offer anywhere in the world - at a price their governments can afford. This remarkable turnaround is due to the Medicines Patent Pool, headed by the formidable Ellen ’t Hoen, which has taken a concept many thought would never work and made it reality. On Tuesday, the patent pool announced its first licensing agreemen...

Source

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

Region

South Asia

How 28 Poor Countries Escaped the Poverty Trap

Remember the poverty trap? Countries stuck in destitution because of weak institutions put in place by colonial overlords, or because of climates that foster disease, or geographies that limit access to global markets, or simply by the fact that poverty is overwhelmingly self-perpetuating. Apparently the trap can be escaped. The World Bank did its annual assessment of poor countries...

Source

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

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

An Inside Look At B Lab’s Plan To Change Business

Entrepreneurs, consumers, governments, and businesses are increasingly using market forces to solve social and environmental problems. B Lab, a five-year-old nonprofit, is attempting to turn that potential into a new kind of corporation that recognizes true corporate social responsibility. The organization works by providing a framework that companies must take in order to be certified as a "B Corporation." And these aren’t just cosmetic steps like increased recycling; companies must writ...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)