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Malaysian Minister Pledges Help for Ethnic Indians
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will initiate a slew of measures, including access to micro-credit facilities and skills training, to improve the economic condition of its 2.1 million ethnic Indians, a senior minister said Wednesday. Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the citizenship and welfare issues of the Indian community would be resolved by the end of next year. He said the cabinet committee’s special task force has identified 20 areas in the country with a high c...
- Region
- South Asia
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Acumen Fund Invests $11 Million in 9 Pakistan Sectors
KARACHI - The Acumen Fund has invested $11 million in nine different sectors for poverty alleviation in Pakistan. "The Fund started its investment in Pakistan in 2006 with an initial investment of $1 million, which has now increased to $11 million in 2010", Zubyr Soomro, chairman of Acumen Fund Pakistan Advisory Council, said at the Acumen Fund Community Annual Gathering 2010 at a hotel here on Saturday. He spoke about his personal journey with the Acumen Fund, and the inspiration ...
- Region
- South Asia
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Big Trouble for Microfinance
OVER the past month, we’ve covered the ongoing crisis in the microfinance industry in Andhra Pradesh, the state in India where microfinance-especially, but not only its for-profit variant exemplified by recent stock-market debutant SKS-has grown most rapidly and has the largest number of borrowerss. The situation on the ground seems to have remained largely unchanged since we covered the story ...
- Region
- South Asia
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Kids Test Solar-Powered Computer Tablet for Schools in India
The One Laptop Per Child project might need to step up, now that tablet devices are on the scene. Rice University has partnered up with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Villages for Development and Learning Foundation in India to develop a solar powered tablet computer that can be used in schools that lack electricity. Dubbed the "I-Slate," it is already being tested out in classrooms. ...
- Region
- South Asia
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China leads decline in world rural poverty
ROME — China has led a dramatic decline in rural poverty rates in many parts of the world over the past decade, a report released on Monday by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development showed.
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Unilever Eyes Top and Bottom-end Segments in Developing Markets
SINGAPORE : Consumer goods giant Unilever wants to straddle both the top and the bottom of the economic pyramid in developing markets. This is part of its strategy to tap Asia’s growth potential, and compensate for the slack in its European and North America units. And to support this growth, Unilever has been making invest...
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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What?s Policy Got to Do With Social Enterprise?
By Lindsay Clinton Many social entrepreneurs and social investors tend to avoid inviting the government to their table because it often means a slow, fat-fingered solution, rather than a targeted, nimble infusion of resources. However, government policy can also serve as a growth catalyst and a broad-based enabler, and, as such, cannot be overlooked as an important partner in the development of social enterprise as a sector. What does a marriage between social enterprise and...
- Region
- South Asia
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Private Equity Discovers Bottom of the Pyramid
With a staggering increase in capital invested across social ventures-$404.58 million in 2010 as compared to $150.36 million in 2009-private equity/ venture capital players are finding a fortune beyond the tip of the pyramid. And, in a turn of focus, interstitially more and more mainstream PE/VC funds are also venturing in this hitherto reserved space of social venture capital funds, making the investment play in the segment dynamic like never before. Fathom this: If social VC funds suc...
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