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

The Mirakle in Mumbai: Life Inside a Social Business

We liked Rohan Mehta’s dia

Source

CNN Go (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Reserve Bank of India to MFIs: Shape Up or Face Music

HYDERABAD: India’s booming microfinance segment is under the scanner, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing a veiled warning that it could be taken off the priority sector lending list of banks if the industry fails to improve its governance standards. This was spelt out at a meeting in late January between senior RBI officials, representatives of Sa-Dhan-the association of Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs)-and some senior MFI managers from Karnata...

Source

Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture

Region

South Asia

?Affordable Prices? is The Way to Get to The Bottom of the Pyramid: Tech4Society

If you want to provide a product or service to the poor, you have to start with what they can afford and work from there. "Whether it is America, India or Nepal, we work backwards and first think, ’What can the customer afford?’", social entrepreneur David Green said at a panel of innovators on the first day of the Tech4Society conference being held in Hyderabad this week. Others agreed that providing much-needed products and services to the poor at an affordable price req...

Source

Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Schneider Makes Global Lighting Debut with LEDs in India

New Delhi: The Paris-based maker of electrical equipment, Schneider Electric SA, is looking to tap the growing Rs5,000 crore luminaire segment in India with its maiden venture into the LED (light emitting diode) lamps market. The launch by Schneider Electric India (SEI) will also mark the 174-year-old company’s global entry into luminaires. "One of the reasons why it would be launched here first is because it has been imagined, designed, engineered and produced here in India," said ...

Source

Live Mint (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

IGNIA Fund I Invests MXN$63 Million in MeXvi, Mexican Provider of Self-Construction Solutions

MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- IGNIA Fund I, LP, the first impact investing fund in Latin America, announced today that it has invested MXN$63 million in Mexicana de Servicios para la Vivienda S.A.P.I. de C.V. ("MeXvi"), a leading provider of integral solutions for self-construction of low-income homes in rural and semi-urban settings. "MeXvi provides the end user with accessible construction materials, design and technical assistance, so that the cli...

Source

PR Newswire (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Latin America

Schneider Electric Launches Solar LED Lighting Product In-Diya

Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management, Thursday launched In-Diya, an energy-efficient LED based Lighting System, to provide lighting to people living with no or unreliable electricity in India. In-Diya is a specially designed LED based lighting system that can operate on main supply and/or solar, and provides backup ranging from 8 - 15 hours for indoor applications, said the company. Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President & CEO, Schneider Electric, said, "In-...

Source

India Blooms (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Supporting Ghana’s Private Health Sector

The argument for the development of the private health sector in Africa could not have been more strongly made than at a recent international conference held in Accra under the aegis of the World Bank Group. Featuring diverse success stories on health care financing and insurance from Ghana, Kenya and Mali, it was perhaps the story of ...

Source

My Joy Online (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

MicroVest Closes Private Equity Fund

MicroVest Capital Management, LLC closed MicroVest II, LP, a private equity fund targeting microfinance institutions worldwide. The fund, which closed with $60 million in commitments, will serve as a capital intermediary between investors and financial institutions that serve the working poor. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. acted as a placement agent, and one of its affiliates was a lead investor. In addition to J.P. Morgan, lead investors include the International Finance Corporation, CARE USA,...

Source

peHUB (link opens in a new window)