NextBillion - A WDI Publication

LifeStraw Saves Those Without Access to Clean Drinking Water

More than a billion people don’t have reliable access to clean drinking water. Boiling kills most germs in water, but requires fuel and doesn’t remove dirt. In recent years, sand and ceramic filters have become more common, but these tend to be more expensive and usually don’t catch all the microbes. So many of the poor worldwide simply drink dirty water. As a result, about 1.5 million children die of ...

Source

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

UNCDF?s MicroLead partners The MasterCard Foundation

The MasterCard Foundation in partnership with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) launched the expansion of the successful MicroLead program at the 5th Annual African Microfinance Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The $23.5 million six year project will increase access to microfinance, particularly savings services, to 450 000 low income people in Sub- Saharan Africa. The MicroLead expansion has selected a minimum of eight institutions to enable microfinance leaders to establish ...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Wealthy Indonesians Start Sharing the Wealth

There are few places in the word where such vast contrasts exist that one can watch a Bentley overtaking a bajaj on city streets, an act that symbolizes the scale of economic inequality throughout the country. However, several determined Indonesians are aiming to take matters into their own hands as a means to provide greater opportunities to those who are less fortunate. Sandiaga Uno, a successful investor and CEO of Saratoga Capital, has found a unique way to link hi...

Source

The Jakarta Post (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture

Region

Asia Pacific

Cambodia: A Place for Pioneer Investors

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (CNN) - The most common image of Cambodia is the land of ancient temples and budget travelers. There’s now something else putting Cambodia on the map: foreign investors. Cambodia’s devastating recent history set the country back a generation. From 1975-78, the Communist Khmer Rouge killed intellectuals, destroyed the education system and pushed for an agrarian society that required families to be uprooted and separated. By the end of t...

Source

CNN (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education

Region

Asia Pacific

Swiss Re Policies Help Cholera Victims in Haiti, Poor Farmers in Africa

Global reinsurer Swiss Re is introducing business interruption coverage in case of cholera outbreaks for women entrepreneurs in Haiti. Swiss Re, together with Mercy Corps and Fonkoze, the largest microfinance organization in Haiti, are introducing a new cholera insurance program. The coverage ensures rapid payout once a pre-defined set of criteria are met. These include cholera-related hospital admissions and observable weather factors linked to cholera outbreaks. Cholera first appeared...

Source

Insurance Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nut Farmers in Ghana Crack into Mobile Technology

Today is a day that I’ve been anticipating for weeks; ever since I found out I was going to host a group of international reporters in Ghana. My thoughts have ranged from excitement to anxiety to trepidation and back around again. After extensive preparation in the form of vaccinations, planning, research and shopping, the time to execute is finally here. As I get ready to join, host and escort nine international journalists through Ghana, a country that I’ve never been to and u...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

The Magic of Social Enterprise

A social entrepreneur’s record of bringing quality vision care to the poor and underprivileged, especially in rural India, and the phenomenal work done by his team with the support of local communities is an inspiring healthcare model. It is easy to get overwhelmed, even depressed, by statistics that tell a dark tale about India’s millions living miserable lives. Rural India has been left far behind in India’s story of growth and development, oft trumpeted from international...

Source

Business Line (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Social Enterprise: Summit Says that the Geography of the World’s Poverty Has Changed

It is clear that our changing world needs new approaches, flexible thinking and more social enterprise. Recent global factors such as the financial collapse, the food and fuel price crisis, and the increasingly rapid burn of climate change has been a challenge for the current model of international development. To find innovative solutions, the largest gathering of its kind with over 800 specialists organised by the Development Studies Assoc...

Source

Justmeans (link opens in a new window)

Region

Europe & Eurasia