NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

BASIX, a new generation rural livelihood promotion institution, has come out with two new products for the self-help groups (SHGs). One of the products is micro-credit plus capacity building product and the other a health insurance product.? The products were launched at the national conference on ?Emerging opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid ? Transforming the Indian rural economy through profitability?. ? The micro-credit product involves a loan of up to Rs one lak...

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andhra cafe.com (link opens in a new window)

CHENNAI, DEC 23: With a view to focusing on innovation and product development, some academicians, industrialists and associations have come together to form Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), India. The association, which is claimed to be a non-profit organisation, is going to be affiliated to PDMA, US. President, PDMA, US, Hamsa Thota, said the mission of PDMA India was to improve the capabilities of people engaged in the design and development of new products ...

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Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

More retailers pursuing markets at the BOP

HYDERABAD/MUMBAI: Call it a mall revolution for the masses. If an idea currently being toyed by retail giants fructifies, India?s huge middle- and lower-class population will have something to cheer. And why not? If retail stores start selling TV sets at Rs 40 per week or, for that matter, kitchen mixers at Rs 10 a week, the hoi polloi are going to be the ultimate beneficiary. For large retailers, catering to the tastes of 45- 60% of a 1.2-billion consumer market makes sou...

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DNA Money (link opens in a new window)

In Haiti, If Someone Gets Your Goat, That’s a Good Thing

Excerpts: Live Goat: $60; Live Chicken: $7; Live Turkey $28; Live Pig: $180. The barnyard animals aren’t actually out back foraging -- they’re in Haiti fattening up. But for Haitian expatriates with money earned in the U.S., animals make great gifts -- much warmer than cash -- for the folks back home. Soca says it sells about 10 goats a week. Haitian people eat goats during every festivity, says William Regis, a Soca store manager. We...

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Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Cleantech Gives Power to the Poor

Excerpts: ...serving the more than 1.6 billion people in the world that don?t have electricity or other energy services is a good business opportunity, one that traditional utilities have ignored for far too long. But to provide people in remote areas with renewable energy, utility companies have to completely change their corporate cultures and undo years of approaching problems in a particular way. Knowledge of local markets, say Mr. Rosa and other entrepreneu...

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Red Herring (link opens in a new window)

BASIX unveils 2 new products for SHGs

BASIX, a livelihood promotion institution, that is into micro-credit, agricultural development services, farmer cooperatives and so on, has come out with two new products for the self-help groups (SHGs), with one being a micro-credit plus capacity building product and the other a health insurance product. The products were launched at the national conference on ?Emerging opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid ? Transforming the Indian rural economy through profitability?. The micro...

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Business Standard (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

ADB Decries Plight of Ugandan Women

By Aidah Nanyonjo LIMITED access to credit and financial services by women entrepreneurs in Uganda is hindering development of their businesses, Dr Mukaila Ojelade, the resident representative of the African Development Bank (ADB), has said. Ojelade said this during the launch of Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs Country Assessment Report at Hotel Equatoria in Kampala. ?Ugandan women entrepreneurs often fall into the ?missing middle? of the financing ...

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The New Vision (link opens in a new window)

Provides Lending to 1.5 Million Poor Annually

BOSTON, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- ACCION International today announced that the active loan portfolio managed by its microfinance partners rose above $1 billion in 2005, for the first time in ACCION’s history.? In just over three years, ACCION has more than doubled its active loan portfolio and doubled the number of poor entrepreneurs served each year. ACCION has made significant strides in addressing world poverty, reflected Maria Otero, ACCION International president a...

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Press Release (link opens in a new window)