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

Putting a Different Face on Africa: Hope for an Economic Turnaround

Africa’s stunning lack of basic services, such as electrical and telephone grids and Internet connectivity, might cause many to despair, but Euvin Naidoo -- a leading advocate for Western investment in the underdeveloped continent -- looks at the map and sees something different: hope. Naidoo, president and CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce in Ame...

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Knowledge@Wharton (link opens in a new window)

How the Mobile Phone Is Becoming a Wallet

The Credit Suisse Thought Leadership Conference 2007, organized by ISP for key clients, took place on November 20 in Zurich under the slogan Entering the Next Level. One of the speakers was Professor C. K. Prahalad from the University of Michigan, USA. In an interview he talked about microfinance and market potential at the bottom of the income pyramid. Cornelia Stauffer: Why are you campaigning for the market at the bottom of the income pyramid? Pro...

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Credit Suisse (link opens in a new window)

Bottom-of-Pyramid entrepreneurship should get due attention: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

If the benefits of economic growth and entrepreneurial activity have to spread to the nation at large for inclusive growth, focus on Bottom-of-Pyramid (BOP) business ideas is important, said Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman, planning commission While delivering his keynote address at the TiE Entrepreneurial Summit in the capital on December 11, Mr Ahluwalia said, Our growth should be inclusive and for that entrepreneurs shoul...

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MBA Universe (link opens in a new window)

Cashless in the Hinterlands

Mobile phones are making life better for people in remote, underserved areas of India . They no longer have to walk kilometers to public call offices to use a telephone-an essential tool for buying and selling goods based on the latest market data, getting credit from lenders and other commonplace activities. So far, most of the benefits have come from one of the phone’s simplest features: voice calls.

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Newsweek (link opens in a new window)

HBS Cases: One Laptop per Child

Drop it on the ground. Sprinkle water on its surface. Let it sit in the sun and expose it to swarms of dust?the XO laptop is designed to handle most any abuse from a child. But the journey of the XO laptop from concept to the educational tool for the world’s poorest children is turning out to be a bit more complicated than originally anticipated. A new Harvard Busines...

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Working Knowledge (HBS) (link opens in a new window)

Is Micro Lending The Future Of Giving?

I met Emily Stenning while we were both studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. From the moment I met her, she was constantly working on something: a committee, a foundation, a charity. To me, she is the epitome of the youth movement that we here at Living admire and believe is the future of global activism and philanthropy. Emily recently moved to India (after founding the Timau Children’s Foundation...

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The Huffington Post (link opens in a new window)

Rural Health Clinic in a Box

Nestled among residential homes on a quiet, leafy street just steps from Bangalore’s busy BTM Ring Road stands the single-story office of Neurosynaptic Communications . The five-year-old company still has the feel of a startup: bare red and yellow walls, empty desks, and 20 or so young techies huddled over their PCs in the research and development lab. The simplicity of the office is deceptive. Neurosynaptic’s product ...

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BusinessWeek (link opens in a new window)

They’re behind you

WE STARTED out abroad as ?accidental tourists?,? says Anand Mahindra, managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian maker of tractors and off-road vehicles. Owed money by a Greek manufacturing plant, it took an equity stake instead, and so Mahindra Hellenic was born in 1984. Mahindra & Mahindra is now one of 100 companies from the developing world that Boston Consulting Group (BCG) thinks have the clout and ambition to upset the world’s multinationals. The cons...

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The Economist (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa