NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Pioneer Avers Solar Power’s Now Cheaper than Kerosene

(...) "Our product costs Rs1,000 and gives 24 hours of light on one charge. It is actually cheaper than kerosene when you spread it over the full lifetime," Chugh said. "The solution, technologically, is there.. If 700 million people can buy a mobile phone that costs Rs3,000 or more, they can surely spend Rs1,000 for energy," he said. What is missing, Chugh points out, are market ’enablers’. In other words, while it may indeed be cheaper than a kerosene in the long run, how does...

Source

Daily News and Analysis, India (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

The Underdog Capitalist

If Prahalad’s work had a common theme - if he himself had a core competency -- it was what he called the democratization of commerce. He was an unapologetic celebrant of capitalism. But his version of capitalism was one in which the little guy could win, and often did. Small companies were not destined to be crushed by their larger rivals, because ideas mattered more than resources. And selling products to the world’s poor didn’t exploit them, in his mind; it gave them the same ch...

Source

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

Region

South Asia

African Agriculture Fund First Closes On US$135 Million

The African Agriculture Fund (AAF), a private equity fund designed to respond to the food crisis that severely impacted the continent in 2008 in the wake of escalating food prices, reached its first closing at US$ 135 million in November 2010. AAF investment thesis primarily lies in food production, processing and distribution in cereals, livestock farming, dairy, fruit an...

Source

Africa Investor (link opens in a new window)

Banks to Ensure Funds for Microlenders

MUMBAI -The chief executive of the Indian Banks Association indicated Wednesday that banks will ensure microlenders remain fully funded in the short term to help them overcome temporary hiccups in repayments and maintain business as usual. Microlenders typically fund their loans to their consumers though short-term loans from banks, leaving them vulnerable to temporary fluctuations in repayment patterns. Bad loans in the Indian microfinance space have typically been as low as 0.1%...

Source

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

Region

South Asia

Massive Change Ahead in Middle East: Women Control $700 Billion

Wealthy female investors in the Middle East are increasingly focused on the environmental and social returns of their investments--not just financial returns. According to Gulf News , women control 22 percent of the region’s assets,...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

The Long and Winding Road Toward US Aid Reform

When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked into the department’s Dean Acheson Auditorium Dec. 15 to release the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, she appeared startled by the size of the crowd. The 868-capacity chamber was standing room only. "I appreciate the great interest that this turnout evidences," she told the as...

Source

Devex News (link opens in a new window)

Fighting Poverty Can Save Energy, Nicaragua Project Shows

In two small villages on Nicaragua’s Mosquito Coast, a project to improve electricity service had a remarkable side benefit-household energy use actually dropped nearly 30 percent. When efficient compact-fluorescent (CFL) lightbulbs were added to the mix, energy savings surpassed 40 percent. The effort cut costs and brought longer hours of daily electricity service to the people of ...

Source

National Geographic (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Five Years In, Gauging Impact of Gates Grants

SEATTLE - Five years ago, Bill Gates made an extraordinary offer: he invited the world’s scientists to submit ideas for tackling the biggest problems in global health, including the lack of vaccines for ...

Source

New York Times (link opens in a new window)