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

Doing good by doing very nicely indeed

For years Muhammad Yunus reigned as the public face of microfinance. It seemed only right when, in 2006, the Bangladeshi economist cum social entrepreneur and his Grameen Bank shared the Nobel peace prize for a micro-lending revolution that has helped millions to earn their own way out of poverty. Yet for the past year or so, microfinance has had another public face, one that troubles people like Mr Yunus. CompartamosBanco argues that the best way for microfinance to help the poor is for it t...

Source

Economist (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Interconnected We Prosper

The World Bank recently revisited its dollar a day global poverty yardstick and came to a startling conclusion: It was wrong when it said some 250 million people in China had escaped from severe poverty between 1990 and 2004. Instead, by its latest count, some 407 million Chinese citizens rose out of poverty during those 14 years - roughly one-third of the entire population of the most populous country on the planet! This upward shift is being repeated around...

Source

International Herald Tribune (link opens in a new window)

Further international recognition for microfinance programme

MICROCREDIT is undoubtedly the number one image builder for Bangladesh. It has earned the most coveted Nobel (peace) prize for the initiator Dr Muhmmad Yunus and his Grameem Bank. It has earned many other international applauds for the operators, including the recent Banking at the Bottom of the Pyramid prize jointly awarded by the Financial Times of London and the International Investment Institute (IFC) to ASA. Mayor of London Boris Johnson formally announced the prize on June 3...

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Daily Star (link opens in a new window)

A sunrise industry coming up in West Delhi?s Uttam Nagar

New Delhi: Shyama Kumari has a new-found sense of confidence. The 20-year-old college goer taught part-time at a local school for two years and saved Rs8,000, which she has put in a bank account. Her banker? The local drug store. Kumari isn?t the only one who banks in a shop and shops in a bank. Around 1,400 people in her neighbourhood, Uttam Nagar?a lower middle class colony in West Delhi?have, through shops that include grocers and chemists, opened accounts that now have between Rs...

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Live Mint: Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Gates Steps Down from Microsoft to Guide Foundation

Friday June 27, Bill Gates will step down from his full-time job at Microsoft, the company he co-founded with his childhood friend, Paul Allen. Gates said he will focus his efforts on improving the health and living conditions of the world’s neediest people through the world’s biggest charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan has more from Los Angeles. Bill Gates may be the world’s most successful college dropout.? More ...

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News VOA (link opens in a new window)

Sun looks to emerging markets with new division

Sun has launched an new division to drive sales in emerging markets such as South and Eastern Europe, Latin America, India and Greater China. The vendor has also embarked on a series of management changes to realign the business with its latest plan for growth. The new Emerging Markets division will be headed up by Denis Heraud, Sun’s senior vice president of A...

Source

Channel Web (link opens in a new window)

Sun looks to emerging markets with new division

Sun has launched an new division to drive sales in emerging markets such as South and Eastern Europe, Latin America, India and Greater China. The vendor has also embarked on a series of management changes to realign the business with its latest plan for growth. The new Emerging Markets division will be headed up by Denis Heraud, Sun’s senior vice president of A...

Source

Channel Web (link opens in a new window)

Dell’s Quest for Growth: to Offset Domestic Slowdown Company Chases Latin America

The shortest distance between a U.S. shopper and the product he or she craves: credit, preferably of the card variety. For many Latin American consumers hoping to get their hands on a personal computer, the barrier is the same - or more precisely, it’s the lack of credit. Really, nobody but a couple companies will finance consumers, said Peter Weigandt, head of Dell Inc.’s business in Latin America. Dell and other computer makers are develo...

Source

Statesman (link opens in a new window)