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

’Financial Inclusion a Must for Poverty Alleviation’

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has said concerns on the front of income distribution and poverty alleviation cannot be met without full-scale expansion of banking and other financial services. RBI deputy governor KC Chakrabarty said while the Indian growth story was impressive, there were concerns on issues like income distribution and poverty alleviation , where lot remained to be done. Mr Chakrabarty pointed out that India ranks 119th among 169 countries on the 2010 Human D...

Source

The Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Serving the Bottom of the Pyramid

Business is brisk for Dheeraj Singh, a small kirana shop owner in Delhi’s Govindpuri area. He stocks a host of brands offered by the Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in categories such as hair oil, shampoo, biscuit, fairness cream and tea, among many others. But he offers most of these products in their smallest pack sizes costing between Rs1 and Rs10. This just works fine for Savitri, a regular customer at the store employed as domestic staff in a flat nearby. She...

Source

livemint.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Tags

poverty alleviation

USAID to Invest $30m in Nepal

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday (March 29) launched its Nepal Economic, Agriculture and Trade (NEAT) project for improving business competitiveness, food security and microfinance to foster economic growth of the country. The two-and-a-half-year project will help the private sector in improving the country’s foundations for rapid, sustained and inclusive private sector-led economic growth, the USAID said organising an interaction here. NEAT ...

Source

Asia News Network (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Germany Gives Extra ?14 Million to Fund Child Immunizations; Gates Foundation to Match It

BERLIN - The German government says it is providing an extra €14 million ($19.9 million) in funding for child immunization in the developing world as part of an agreement with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Development Aid Ministry says the Gates foundation will match the €14 million funding of projects overseen by the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization. It also will match any further pledges Germany makes over the next two years. Billionaire ph...

Source

The Canadian Press (link opens in a new window)

Region

Europe & Eurasia

D.light Design Names Board Chairman Donn Tice as CEO

D.light Design, which offers affordable solar energy and lighting solutions, announced today that the board chairman Donn Tice would be the chief executive officer of the company. Tice, who has been driving innovation in consumer products for over 30 years, will focus on expanding distribution, driving global marketing and developing D.light’s international team to serve the requirements of its growing customer base. Tice has been an advisor to D.light since March, 2008, and has ser...

Source

Moneycontrol.com (link opens in a new window)

New Project in Ghana Aims to End Female Servitude in Agriculture

Hundreds of young women still held as slaves to priests under traditional “Trokosi” religion The priests -- mostly maize and black bean farmers -- are taught improved farming skills so they can do without female slaves. The women learn to support themselves with new skills such as sewing and hair dressing. "The priests have vast plots of land for agriculture," says Patience Vormawor, project officer at IN Networg Ghana. "We help them to improve on their system of...

Source

VoANews.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Bill Gates: International Community to Miss MDG’s 2015 Deadline

The U.N. Millennium Development Goals can be reached if donor countries keep their commitments to increase aid spending to 0.7 percent of their incomes, but the 2015 deadline will be likely missed by up to six years, U.S. billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has predicted . The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation trustee made the remarks in front of the European Parliament’s Development Committee on Tuesday (April 5).

Source

Devex (link opens in a new window)

Region

Europe & Eurasia

Digital Divide Data Launches Business Process Outsourcing Company in Kenya

Digital Divide Data (DDD) announced today the launch of business operations in Nairobi, Kenya. The new company will offer business process outsourcing (BPO) services, including data entry, electronic publishing, and back-office administrative tasks to customers in East Africa as well as international markets. The social enterprise, which aims to create jobs for Kenyan youth, is the first investment in a Kenyan BPO company to combine U.S. technology and market expertise with operating experien...

Source

PRWeb (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa