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

Super-rich in move to ease African poverty

US economist Jeffrey Sachs has been pursuing the strategy since 2004 through his non-profit Millennium Promise group. It aims to tackle myriad problems of poverty all at once by providing villagers with relatively inexpensive technologies and approaches, including mosquito nets to prevent malaria and stoves with chimneys to reduce deadly indoor air pollution. FINANCIER and philanthropist George Soros has offered $US50 million ($A66 million) to support a vast social experiment that aims to help v...

Source

The Age (link opens in a new window)

EBRD signs first Mongolia project, microfinance loan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed its first project in Mongolia on Wednesday, a $5 million loan to XacBank, which specialises in microfinance. The funds will be lent on to small and micro-businesses throughout the country. XacBank, licensed four and a half years ago, offers loans ranging in size from $27 to $150,000, according to its Web site (www.xacbank.org). Continue reading ...

Source

Yahoo! Asia News (link opens in a new window)

Region

Europe & Eurasia

Kenya aims for own internet cable

The announcement comes weeks after Kenya refused to sign up to a 23-nation plan to build an undersea telecommunications cable, East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), after disagreeing with South Africa about the cost and management of the project. The cable network that will connect East Africa to the rest of the world will also serve Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Somalia, said the statement, which gave no timetable for the project. Ke...

Source

BBC News (link opens in a new window)

ICICI Venture mulls 4 specialised funds

ICICI Venture has also tied up with seven of its key investors in its private equity funds that will co-invest with them in acquisitions and buying of stakes in companies. The need for a small-cap fund was felt because ICICI?s current funds are for bigger deals, with an average size of $75 million. The small-cap fund will invest in smaller and emerging companies, which require a fund infusion of between $10 million and $50 million. ICICI Venture is planning to set up four new special...

Source

Business Standard (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

SMEs in Bangladesh

SMEs in Bangladesh produce a multitude of labour intensive goods including toys, consumer items, small tools and paper products for the domestic market. Further development of these industries offers various investment opportunities. Export-oriented production in SMEs has gained momentum in the past few years. Entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Japan and Korea have taken advantage of Bangladesh’s cheap and easily trainable labour and its infrastructure facilities to ...

Source

Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

Pertinent issues on SME finance in Bangladesh

Financial services for the poor have proved to be a powerful instrument for poverty reduction enabling the poor to build assets, increase incomes and reduce the vulnerability to economic stress. Today, access to credit is recognised as a ’right’ of people globally. Over the years, there has been phenomenal growth in activities of microcredit in many countries of the world and a transition in the paradigm and modalities of microcredit. Microcedit Summit Meeti...

Source

Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Katalyst in the field of SME promotion

KATALYST is one of the largest projects which work in the field of SME promotion. It started in 2002 and is currently active in more than 30 sectors: manufacturing sectors such as plastics, furniture, agro tools; agricultural sectors like pond fishery, vegetables, maize and poultry and in service sectors, e.g. accounting, marketing and quality management. KATALYST also works with business associations to improve the enabling environment for businesses. The project&#...

Source

Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

Women in enterprise development: Bangladesh perspective

Over the last three decades, there has been a dramatic increase in concern with developing and adopting strategies to address the question of feminisation of poverty. Women in Third World countries, like Bangladesh, face many social difficulties and economic deprivation. Social structures and the state environment are not favourable for the social development and economic upliftment of women. Despite several positive interventions and affirmative actions undertaken ...

Source

Financial Express (link opens in a new window)