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

Latin America remittances support investments

Latin Americans working in the United States are sending back more money to their families and investing increasing amounts in homes and small businesses, according to a study commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank. The study ? based on more than 2,500 telephone interviews with migrants and their families in nine countries ? found that the average monthly amount sent has risen from $240 to $300 in the past two years. As many as one-third of respondents s...

Source

Financial Times (link opens in a new window)

Mobiles to help track diseases

Mobile phone technology is being developed to help manage the spread of diseases such as HIV and bird flu. The software is designed to allow field workers using handsets to send and receive data on disease outbreaks along with patient and drug information. The project is a collaboration between technology firm Voxiva and the trade association for mobile operators, GSMA. Trials of the relatively low-cost application are underway in Rwanda, Afric...

Source

BBC News World Edition (link opens in a new window)

Diverse Group of Nine Finalists Qualify For Sustainability Awards

Sustainable North Carolina has named nine organizations that combine strong financial returns with environmental stewardship and social responsibility as finalists for its fifth annual awards. ?The diversity of the organizations that qualified as finalists show that sustainability is growing in North Carolina,? said Katy Ansardi, president of Sustainable North Carolina. ?We are looking forward to naming the winners at the awards presentation on Oct. 30.? There are three fin...

Source

The Open Press (link opens in a new window)

Microsoft’s Mundie: A bottom-up approach to tech

For a good part of 2006, Craig Mundie has been on a jet plane visiting Microsoft customers and political leaders in other parts of the world. Craig Mundie was one of the premier speakers at the December 2004 WRI Conference; ’Eradicating Poverty Through Profit.’ I found one quote from this article particularly interesting: I’ve been the liaison to China for the last seven years, and India for the last four years, and Russia for the last three years. So in many of t...

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News.Com (link opens in a new window)

Uganda: DFCU Boosts SMEs

DFCU Limited has received credit worth sh22b from the European Investment Bank to lend to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Announcing the deal, Moses Kibirige, the executive director, said the facility would serve SMEs interested in expanding and growing their businesses through leasing over the next one year. The funds will finance eligible SMEs in agro-business, fishing, mining, construction, tourism, transport, education and health care, Kibirige said.

Source

New Vision (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Venture capitalists descend on India

Unlike private equity investment, the venture capital industry remains in its infancy in India. Private equity deal volumes are expected to triple to $7bn by 2010 compared with $2.2bn in 2005, according??to??Bain,??the??consultancy. But investment in start-ups accounts for only about 20 per cent of the total number of private equity and venture capital deals done in India, according to Venture Intelligence, a domestic company that tracks private equity and venture capital d...

Source

Financial Times (link opens in a new window)

Public Private Partnerships an Imperative for Achieving Rural Development

In addition, he said, that accessibility to rural communities would thrive when the Private and Pubic Partnership (PPP) is entrenched. PPP is the key to moving the rural people ahead, he declared. Meanwhile, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, has warned that Africa may suffer another round of digital divide based on lack of data in the evolution of telecommunications on the continent.

Source

Highway Africa News Agency (link opens in a new window)

Uganda: ICT Boosts Farmers’ Profits

If used properly, Information Communication Technology (ICT) could be used to develop agriculture, for example we can now just call and get to know the prices of our products. We can also access them from MTN’s 197 and 198. Even middlemen who come looking for the products find us already aware of the prices, they no longer cheat us, Kamya says. With a village phone at her residence, she only needs to call and know about the market prices for her red pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, ca...

Source

New Vision (link opens in a new window)