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

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...

Source

channelnewsasia.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

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...

Source

Wall Street Journal - India Realtime (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

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...

Source

The Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

India Microfinance Body: Sector Facing Survival Threat

MUMBAI -(Dow Jones)- India’s microfinance sector could be all but wiped out if immediate steps aren’t taken to rescue it, after authorities in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh initiated steps to tighten its grip over their lending activities, the president of a local representative body said Friday. "By Dec. 31, if this situation continues, there will be no microfinance sector in 2011," Vijay Mahajan of Microfinance Institution Network, or MFIN, told reporters on the sidelin...

Source

Dow Jones (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Africa Agriculture Fund First Close at $135 Million

PRESS RELEASE ---- 29 November 2010 The African Agriculture Fund (AAF), a private equity fund designed to respond to the food crisis that severely impacted the continent in 2008 in the wake of escalating food prices, reached its first closing at US$ 135 million in November 2010. AAF investment thesis primarily lies in food production, processing and distribution in cereals, livestock farming, dairy, fruit and vegetabl...

Source

Press Release (link opens in a new window)

Impact investment ?A Burgeoning Asset Class?

"Impact investment" - an embryonic market in which investors aim to achieve positive social or environmental gains - is beginning to emerge as a separate asset class and should be treated as such, says a report from JPMorgan and the Rockefeller Foundation . The study claims to be the most comprehensive look to...

Source

Financial Times (link opens in a new window)

Social Entrepreneurs Boost Cooperation to Reduce Poverty in Asia

Innovative thinkers working for social change converged in Seoul, Monday, in a bid to boost cooperation towards alleviating poverty and other problems in Asia. Some 300 agents of change known as social entrepreneurs - those who apply fresh paradigms to solve pressing human issues - gathered in southern Seoul for the second major gathering of the Asian Social Entrepreneurs Summit. On the first of two days of dialogue at the Kyoyuk Munwha Hoekwan Hotel, tackling pove...

Source

The Korean Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Currency War: The Stakes for Africa

By Sanou Mbaye As a result of chronically deficient demand in the aftermath of the 2008-09 financial and economic crises, global imbalances are on the rise again, as is the risk of protectionism. The US thinks China is undervaluing its currency to support its industry. The situation could lead to an "international currency war". What does this herald for African...

Source

The Guardian (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa