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

Tata Motors Developing Cheaper Trucks

MUMBAI - Tata Motors Ltd. is developing cheaper versions of its Prima range of trucks and plans to start launching them by the end of 2011 to boost demand, a senior company executive said recently. The new trucks will be sold at price points up to 400,000 rupees ($8863.3) lower than those of the current range, the executive told Dow Jones Newswires. "We are currently working on cutting costs th...

Source

The Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Women Farmers a Force in Fighting Global Food Shortages: Report

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its 2011 State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) report this week, just in time for today’s International Women’s Day. The report illustrates how better investments in female farmers would prevent malnourishment in 100-150 million people, because of the ways women are likely to allocate resources in a food-shortage-threatened world. "The report s...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Lack of Funding Still Plagues India Microlenders

Six months after the state of Andhra Pradesh slapped restrictive laws on India’s microlenders, availability of funding continues to plague the once-thriving lenders to the poor despite official encouragement. Confidence building is needed to revive financing for microfinance operations, said Mathew Titus, executive director of Sa-Dhan, an industry body. "You need somebody to step up and say the industry is fine," Titus said on the sidelines of a conference organised by Sa-Dhan...

Source

Reuters (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Microcredit’s Quiet Revolution Takes Root in Brazil

SOROCABA, Brazil - When people talk about Brazil’s economy, figures numbering in the billions of dollars are usually bandied about to underline the success -- and the potential -- of this vast Latin American market of 193 million people. But for one 25-year-old woman, Alessandra Franca, just a handful of cash is all it takes to make a difference for the 40 percent of Brazil’s population who are still poor. A year ago, Franca founded Banco Perola, a lending institution spec...

Source

AFP via Google News (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

IFC Invests in New Microfinance Bank to Help Pakistan?s Farmers Get Loans

Islamabad, Pakistan. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is improving access to finance for Pakistan’s farmers by investing to transform microcredit operations of the National Rural Support Program-one of the country’s leading microfinance institutions-into a regulated, deposit-taking microfinance bank. IFC will...

Source

The Financial (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Microcredit: Prevent it from Collapse

Noted economists and analysts yesterday urged the critics of microcredit, including the government, not to underrate the contribution of microfinance institutions that help lift millions out of poverty. Their calls came from a roundtable discussion on microcredit and poverty alleviation, organised by the country’s most-circulated national daily Prothom Alo at its office in Dhaka. The sector that lends funds to more than two crore families across the country has been passing th...

Source

The Daily Star (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Banks Say Inclusiveness Is Costly

The Reserve Bank of India may want all banks to focus on financial inclusion-service the poor at the bottom of the pyramid-but is it a viable business? "It’s not really profitable to have people in financial inclusion," admitted Neeraj Swaroop, regional chief executive India and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank. "A lot of the accounts are dormant and not activated because there’s no credit as those people are really poor," he added. "You can’t have financial inclusi...

Source

The Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

U. Project Hopes to Buy Cows for Cambodia

SALT LAKE CITY - What do University of Utah students, cows and Cambodia have in common? They are linked through a project to help people rise out of poverty. "We have some very dedicated students who have educated themselves on microcredit, its potential, the impact it can have on lives," said economics professor Wade Roberts. Members of his international economics class want to take an idea - microcredit - halfway around the world. They have only seen video or pictures of the pov...

Source

Deseret News (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia