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Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition
The nascent field of social entrepreneurship is growing rapidly and attracting increased attention from many sectors. The term itself shows up frequently in the media, is referenced by public officials, has become common on university campuses, and informs the strategy of several prominent social sector organizations, including Ashoka and the Schwab and Skoll foundations. The reasons behind the popularity of social entrepreneurship are many. On the most basic level, there?s something ...
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Unitus Equity Fund Closes Largest Private Global Equity Fund Targeting Microfinance
The Unitus Equity Fund L.P. (UEF), an equity fund investing in microfinance institutions in Asia and Latin America, today announced that the Fund closed with $23.4 million in committed capital. This makes UEF the largest global equity fund in the microfinance industry to be fully funded with private capital. UEF is an affiliated organization of Unitus, Inc. ( www.unitus.com ), a social enterprise which dramatically accelerates the growth of microfinance inst...
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Sequoia leads $11.5 million financing for microfinancier
Sequoia Capital led an $11.5 million investment in SKS Microfinance , a fast-growing microfinance institution in India. It is wonderful to be an invest...
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Quanta launches ultra-low-cost PCs
Quanta Computer, the world?s largest manufacturer of notebook computers, will start making ultra-low-cost computers that could be sold in developed markets for as little as $200 this year or the next, according to its president. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer is already producing a laptop developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers that will be distributed to children in third-world countries ? under a non-profit project called One Laptop Per Child ? for as lit...
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Trickle-up Economics
An estimated 16 million South Africans lack an operating water supply at home and have to walk an average of one kilometer to fetch water. Assuming the average household is five people, that’s 3.2 million households. Picture each household making two trips daily; that’s four kilometers walked in order to obtain enough water for the day. Four multiplied by 3.2 million makes 12.8 million kilometers walked each day - the equivalent of walking to the moon and back 16 times. Give or take a bu...
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Go Micro for Macro Speed
ET: At a time when the Indian economy is registering the highest growth rates ever, the biggest preoccupation now - and rightly so - is to ensure that we are able to develop a model for sustainable growth. We welcome Professor Joseph Stiglitz in Mumbai. At ET, we’re privileged to host this breakfast meeting between you and Nachiket Mor of ICICI Bank. This session is meant to explore issues relating to India’s search for a more inclusive model of growth. We would also explore w...
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IBM, Indian Tech Firm Devise Smart Card for the Poor
US giant IBM and an Indian technology firm said Wednesday they had devised a smart card to help poor entrepreneurs access credit from institutions that lend to the unbanked. Small traders who have borrowed from microfinance institutions such as Bangalore-based Janalakshmi Social Services will be able to take part in fruit and vegetable auctions using the card, without having to take loans from greedy moneylenders, the companies said. A technology platform develo...
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You, Too, Can Be a Banker to the Poor
For those readers who ask me what they can do to help fight poverty, one option is to sit down at your computer and become a microfinancier. That?s what I did recently. From my laptop in New York, I lent $25 each to the owner of a TV repair shop in Afghanistan, a baker in Afghanistan, and a single mother running a clothing shop in the Dominican Republic. I did this through www.kiva.org, a Web site that provides information about entrepreneurs in poor countries ? their photos, loan pro...
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