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

XLRI ties up with SCU

JAMSHEDPUR: The premier B school of the country, XLRI, Jamshedpur and Santa Clara University (SCU), California , USA, have signed an MoU to promote and foster social entrepreneurship in India. The two institutes have decided to collaborate where...

Source

The Times of India (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Smart Launches (BoP-Focused) P500 Phone

MANILA, Philippines-Dominant carrier Smart Communications Inc. is bringing one of the world’s most affordable phones to the country to reach the people at the "base of the pyramid" that still do not have access to basic telecommunications services. In a briefing on Thursday, Smart announced the launch of its "Panalo Phone," which would sell at a price of P499 each. The new phone, which comes in two models made by the Chinese brand ZTE and local phone maker Cherry Mobile, is set to h...

Source

Inquirer.net (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Betting on Green

"ENVIRONMENTALISTS are fiddling while Rome burns," says Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm. "They get in the way with silly stuff like asking people to walk more, drive less. That is an increment of 1-2% change. We need 1,000% change if billions of people in China and India are to enjoy a Western, energy-rich lifestyle." Forget today’s green technologies like electric cars, wind turbines, solar cells and smart grids, in other words. None meets ...

Source

The Economist (link opens in a new window)

Rural Electrification to Raise $200 Mn by March End

Mumbai: India’s state-run lender Rural Electrification Corp (REC) plans to raise $200 million from the offshore loan market by the close of the current fiscal year ending this month, a company official told Reuters. The $200 million foreign currency loans will have a tenor of five years and could be denominated in yen or dollars, H.D. Khunteta, director of finance, said. The all-in cost of funding the loans is 170 basis points plus Libor. The company is awaiting the Reserve Ba...

Source

livemint.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

NextDrop Project Keeps on Winning

Less than a week after winning one international mobile app prize, the NextDrop project was victorious again - this time in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition at the University of Washington’s business school. The Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) rewards student projects that target poverty reduction in developing economies, integrating financial and social returns on investment. The competition has previously recognized projects like solar-powered modul...

Source

UC Berkeley School of Information (link opens in a new window)

American Expat Helps Hong Kong Startups Find Footing

The Hong Kong social enterprise scene is just getting going --and so is the startup movement. A cofounder of StartupsHK and BootHK , Jonathan Buford, tells Fast Company that it all comes down to one word: community . With the lure of the safety and comforts that come with a hi...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Europe & Eurasia

Grameen Founder Muhammad Yunus in Final Appeal

Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has lodged a final appeal against his sacking as head of the Grameen microfinance bank he founded. The Supreme Court will hear the case next Tuesday. The central bank fired Prof Yunus last week, saying he was past retirement age and had been improperly appointed. He says the move is politically motivated. Grameen Bank pioneered micro-lending to the poor by giving small loans to millions of borrowers. The model has been replicat...

Source

BBC News (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Wen Jiabao Vows To Eradicate Chinese Poverty By 2020

Chinese authorities have released a series of announcements indicating that they might be beginning to correct their share of the so-called "global imbalances" by channeling domestic spending and revving up imports. While Premier Wen Jiabao announced on Saturday that his administration would look to "actively boost consumer demand," the government-approved China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) announced a record number of Chinese trade delegations would make the...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific