NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Harvard Business? Exec Ed Program Focuses on Emerging Markets

Harvard Business School will launch a new executive education program in April, hoping to cash in the demand by industries to tap into the potential of emerging markets. Dubbed "Building Businesses in Emerging Markets," the five-day session is designed to help executives understand emerging markets, identify new business and optimize their organization’s strategy in specific countries, HBS said. Tuition, which includes books, accommodations and most meals, is $8,750. ...

Source

Boston Herald (link opens in a new window)

Investing In China’s Future One Student At A Time

For Calvin Chin , the road to higher education requires just a few hundred dollars at the right moment. Take Winnie, for instance. She was a senior at Guangzhou University when her father had to quit his teaching job because his eyesight started to fail him. He went back to working...

Source

The Huffington Post (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Why Africa Needs an Agricultural Revolution

Africa’s peasants are migrating to the cities in huge numbers because it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive on their farms. Farmers are trapped into using inefficient technologies; average cereal yields have barely increased in 40 years and farm sizes are shrinking. Although Africans are leaving the farm, far too few are finding productive jobs in the cities. Most are getting poorer, the cost of safety-net programmes is escalating and Africa’s dependence on concession...

Source

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

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Colombia: For the Poor, a New Way to Protect Against Disaster

BARRANQUILLA, Colombia - Before a sales team for Liberty Mutual fanned out into a crime-infested slum to sell insurance, the venders bowed their heads, asking god to bless their work and protect them from thieves. A ramshackle neighborhood where horse carts ply the streets and the floors of many houses are made of dirt might seem an odd place to peddle insurance. After all, insurance companies have historically ignored the poor. But the Liberty team was offering something new to l...

Source

Global Post (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Web Inventor Seeks Voice-Enabled Internet in Africa

Tim Berners-Lee is best known as the father of the World Wide Web, but his latest side-project in Senegal and Mali--the World Wide Web Foundation’s VOICES project --aims to give youth and families without typical computing abilities a way to access the Internet with voice-enabled apps. "VOICE...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Yunus Signs Clothing Deal with French Company

Yunus Centre and ID Group, a French company, yesterday signed a deal to produce functional clothing for children of 0-5 years under social business in Bangladesh. The business will also provide technical training to the rural poor and generate employment. It plans to start production by the year-end. They will also set up a day-care centre for children under another social business, Yunus Centre said in a statement. ID Group Chief Executive Officer Jean-Luc Soufflet and Nobe...

Source

The Daily Star (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Jamaicans May Bank on a Mobile Future

JAMAICA can choose a mobile phone-based financial services delivery system which targets those persons who currently do not have easy access to the established banking network. Carl Rosenquist, a Chartered Information Technology Professional with the British Computer Society, was one of several industry experts trumpeting the development during the Mobile Financial Services Conference at the Terra Nova All Suites Hotel in Kingston in December, which aimed to develo...

Source

Jamaica Observer (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Islamic Micro Lenders Set Up Global Network

LAHORE: Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN) has been set up to assemble the international Islamic Microfinance organisations on one platform, a statement said. The IMFN head office is in Lahore and its regional offices will be in Ghana, Mauritius and Middle East. According to IMFN official the board members of IMFN are Farida Tariq, Chairperson, Amjad Saqib, Vice Chairman, and Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer. Kawako Yasuma, CEO, Ghana Islami...

Source

TheNews.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East