NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Mobile Apps Competition Puts Women Online in the Developing World

Vodafone is sponsoring a competition to encourage developers to build mobile apps for women in developing countries. The GSMA mWomen ’Base of the Pyramid’ apps challenge competition aims to address the needs of the 300 million women in developing countries who are not yet connected to a mobile device. The competition was open to original applications from software development companies producing ’feature’ and smartphone applications aligned to the socio-economic be...

Source

ComputerWeekly.com (link opens in a new window)

Why Muhammad Yunus and the Poor Need Us More than Ever

In the past weeks, Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus has been under attack by not only his the leader of the government in his native Bangladesh but by those people and organizations who are upset with what narrows down to Dr Yunus’ stand against corruption and loan sharking. Basically here is what it comes down to: greed and corrupt power versus truly helping the poor to help themselves. Anyone who has spent time with Dr Yunus, and everyone I have spoken to over the pas...

Source

The Huffington Post (link opens in a new window)

Movirtu Awarded Contract with Airtel Madagascar

Movirtu, the leading provider of Mobile Identity Management (MIM) solutions to wireless telecommunication service providers, announced today a contract with Airtel Madagascar to implement the Movirtu Cloud Phone services nationwide in Madagascar. The main channel for purchase will be the Village Phone Operators (VPOs) with whom the service has been piloted. Airtel has a stated goal to attract new subscribers from rural areas in Madagascar. 70% of rural consumers do not have acces...

Source

Neondrum (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

IDB, Oikocredit, Incofin and Calvert Foundation Back Credit Cooperative in Ecuador

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has closed a $9 million syndicated loan with Jardin Azuayo, a community-based savings and loan cooperative in Ecuador . The loan will fund the co-op’s Credits for Community Development project, which channels funds to municipalities, community organizations and other local entities to finance improvements in social infrastructure such as schools and roads. Th...

Source

iadb.org (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

With Mobile Technology Vodafone and the U.N. Improve Health in Brazil’s Remote Communities

The Vodafone Foundation and the United Nations are working together again on a mobile initiative for social good --this time in Brazil and with an eye on ...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Facebook, Twitter Could Learn Social Responsibility from South Africa’s Social Network

MXit, a popular mobile messaging client that reaches an astounding 40% of South Africans , has an aggressive corporate social responsibility program that US-based social networks could learn from. In addition to live educational, drug, and suicide-prevention counselors, MXit recently added a civic responsibility app, Sm...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Rockefeller Foundation Sees Social-Change Dividend

The Rockefeller Foundation is banking on paying for social change that works. To that end, the foundation will this week announce a $400,000 gr...

Source

The Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Live Q&A: Social Franchising And Social Enterprise

Franchising is a well-established means of expanding a business, and one which is coming under increasing scrutiny by social entrepreneurs. Yet a recent report from the Social Enterprise Coalition found that there were a number of barriers to expanding social franchising, including understanding, finance, intellectual property and capacity. The report said that more support was needed for social enterprises who wa...

Source

The Guardian (link opens in a new window)