NextBillion - A WDI Publication

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): An Interview with CEO Luther Ragin, Jr.

Recently, I interviewed Luther Ragin, Jr., CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)-the leading non-profit organization dedicated to the development of a successful impact investing industry. Impact investments aim to address social or environmental challenges while generating financial returns. Prior to joining the GIIN in September as the organization’s first chief executive, Mr. Ragin served as the Vice President of Investm...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Mobiles Can Save India?s Poor Women

India ranks 122 out of 138 nations in the United Nations Development Programme’s gender equality index-and for good reason. Only 65% of Indian women are literate, compared with nearly 83% men. A third of the married Indian women are underweight. Maternal mortality rate is high (450 per 100,000 live births) in part due to inadequate antenatal care coverage. Women now account for 39% of HIV infections, and awareness of prevention and treatment still lags. Can any technological or comm...

Source

livemint.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Women Lead the Way in the Struggle Against Swaziland’s HIV Crisis

Siphiwe Hlophe’s shrewd, enterprising spirit is apparent within moments of meeting her. "You work for Comic Relief?" she says. "Brilliant! I might walk away from this meeting with some money." Hlophe, a Swazi woman living with HIV, wants the money for the charity she directs, Swaziland for Positive Living (Swapol), which supports rural communities affected by HIV. Her resourcefulness is striking in a country where women are denied the right to re...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Big Pharma Giving Away Drug Patents to Help Cure Tropical Disease

Intellectual property is crucial for pharmaceutical companies to survive; without it, their pricey blockbuster drugs can be replaced with cheap generics. And yet, big companies like AstraZeneca, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Merck are willingly putting some of their intellectual property information in a public database . The pharmaceutical industry hasn’t gone crazy--it’s just participating in an in...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

In Famine, Vouchers Can Be Tickets to Survival

The town of Dhobley, Somalia, sits at the gateway of hell. Just west of Dhobley is the border with Kenya, and the road to Dadaab, which hosts a giant complex of refugee camps; Dhobley has become the last stop in Somalia for a growing stream of desperate, starving people in flight from famine. In Dhobley, as well, drought has ruined crops and felled cows. There is no government to help. The town is a battleground; control of Dhobley has teetered between the Shabaa...

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

PepsiCo Gves $8M to Support Access to Clean Water in India

PepsiCo Foundation is donating $8 million to support access to clean water in India, the food and beverage company announced Thursday. Water is a critical environmental and social issue as billions of people worldwide currently lack access to safe water for drinking and sanitation needs. A growing population, cli...

Source

The Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Battling Poverty With Tiny Bits of Cash

Bishoftu - At the outskirts of this town, 45 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Aselefech Desalegn fights the flames she uses for baking enjera, Ethiopia’s staple flatbread. Like millions of poor Ethiopian women, she is also constantly battling to feed her children. In recent years her livelihood has been supplying enjera to hotels in the town. "Except for the chair you see over there, all you see in the house comes from Buusaa Gonofaa," she says, referring to t...

Source

allAfrica.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Micro Credit Providing a Lifeline

Small-business owners are becoming more reliant on non-governmental organizations to provide capital. Chen Jia reports from Shaanxi province. Chinese farmers finding it hard to obtain bank loans are turning to micro-credit organizations to help them launch their own businesses, amid the accelerated expansion of the non-governmental financial system. With savings of only 1,000 yuan ($157) and no other income five years ago, Li Wenqin, a farmer in her 50s, never thought that she wou...

Source

China Daily (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific