NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Coming Up, Job Plan Scheme for Urban Poor

The UPA government, which launched schemes providing employment opportunities for the rural poor during its two term in power, is now targeting the urban poor, majority of whom are slum dwellers. With an eye on the 2014 Parliamentary election, the Centre plans to launch the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), which will create job opportunities for the urban poor, during the 12th Plan. The housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry, which has p...

Source

Hindustan Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Micro-loans Helping Solar Power Take Hold in India

In Chemangala, in southern India, silk farmer H.B. Manjunath walks into a back room of a dark thatched roof cabin, flips on a light switch and watches as the cool light illuminates hundreds of milky white silkworms crawling in a wooden box full of mulberry leaves. The worms need the crispy leaves to survive and spin their silk cocoons, but they’ll only do it when there’s continuous light. Manjunath said that used to be very hard to come by. "We had four or five hours of un...

Source

Public Radio International (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Do Designers Actually Exploit The Poor While Trying To Do Good? Jan Chipchase Responds

Recently, at the PopTech Conference in Camden, Maine, Jan Chipchase, Frog’s all-star field researcher, was giving a presentation on his travels in search of novel design solutions when a person in the audience lobbed a pointed question: "What is your motivation? Why do you do this?" When Chipchase began to respond, the audience member interrupted and asked again, "No, what is your motivation?" The follow-up hanging in the air was, "How do you sleep at night?" As the back and forth c...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Does Microfinancing Really Work? A New Book Says No

Politicians from Washington to New Delhi have argued for years that giving tiny loans to poor people to help them start or expand their businesses is a sure-fire way to help millions improve their lot in life, and drastically reduce global poverty, especially among women. The idea has become such a central feature of foreign aid programs (USAID pours millions into such projects) that the microfinance industry has ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar business operating in virtually every coun...

Source

Time (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Intuit Taps Text Messages, Economics To Boost Farmer Incomes In India

"How can technology help the places I grew up in?" That’s Deepa Bachu, describing her personal mission. Bachu was born in Bangalore, India, but spent a decade at Intuit’s Mountain View headquarters developing flagship products like Quicken. She returned home several years ago, for family reasons, and after becoming the director of emerging market innovation at Intuit, set out to build products for many of the neighbors she grew up with. "It’s so motivating," she says. "It...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Exclusive: Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Invests In Mobile Payments Platform BASIX Sub-K

BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Limited , a mobile payments platform promoted by Vijay Mahajan’s BASIX Group , has raised an undisclosed amount of equity investment from Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Sub-K provides residents of rural, urban and semi-urban areas with a mobile technology based transactional platform for access to services like banking, NREGA, utility p...

Source

techcircle.in (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

DLF Foundation and Laurus Edutech Sign An MOU to Setup Over 18 Centres Jointly in First Phase

New Delhi, Delhi, January 5, 2012 / India PRwire / -- In a significant development, Laurus Edutech- A leading skill Development Company signed a MoU with the DLF Foundation, the philanthropic arm of DLF Limited. DLF Foundation has launched a programme called DLF Life where LIFE stands for Learning Initiatives for Employment. As part of the LIFE Program and MoU, DLF Foundation and Laurus Edutec...

Source

IndiaPRwire (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

How Biochar Will Help Kenya Go Green And Save Money

Re:char is a pioneering company that sells kilns to farmers in Kenya that allow them to convert their farm waste into what’s known as biochar, which can then be used for cooking. As an enterprise, Re:char seeks to deliver a "triple bottom line," expanding the uses of sustainable alternatives for energy, providing a cost effective solution for farmers in an effort to combat poverty, and stemming deforestation in Africa by encouraging use of biochar as cooking fuel instead of cutting down t...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa