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Acumen Fund Announces Investment in Husk Power Systems
New York, NY ( PRWEB ) March 2, 2010 -- Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture firm addressing poverty in South Asia and East Africa, today announced a new investment in Husk Power Systems (HPS), an innovative rural electrification company that will establish decentralized power generation to remote villages in India. The company uses novel biomass gasification technology to convert abundant rice husks into combustible gases, which then drive a generator to produce...
- Region
- South Asia
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Maximum Impact: How Top Philanthropists Would Spend $10 Billion
At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Bill Gates , the chairman of Microsoft Corp., committed $10 billion over the next decade to help develop vaccines and distribute them to children in the developing world. By anyone’s estimation, this is a lot of money and a worthy cause. But could it be spent even more wisely? It is now ...
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Microfinance’s Midlife Crisis
From humble beginnings, microfinance-a system of providing tiny loans and savings accounts to the poor-has grown into a global industry attracting the interest of large multinational banks. But the commercialization of the industry has sparked a fierce debate. Profit advocates highlight improved access to foreign capital and expertise; traditionalists say microfinance companies are in danger of becoming little better than predatory moneylenders. There is little doubt that microfin...
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Banking on Mobile Money: What Does It Mean For Kenya’s Economy?
Many technologists and entrepreneurs have argued that mobile phones can empower people in the developing world by providing civic and commercial resources where traditional infrastructure is lacking. But what actually happens when people start using such technologies? An MIT economist’s detailed new study from Kenya sheds light on the impact of a mobile phone-based money system in a developing economy. Kenya’s new mobile-money system, called M-PESA, really is ch...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India Budget to Push Harder for Financial Inclusion
The Indian government’s push for financial access for hundreds of millions of the unbanked is helping secure its vote base and creating lucrative opportunities for financial institutions, technology and mobile services firms. In his budget speech on Friday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may announce funds for a common technology platform to reach the goal of a banking outlet in every village of more than 2,000 people by March, 2011, senior government officials say. The gov...
- Region
- South Asia
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Godrej’s ’Chotukool’ Refrigerator May Take a Year to Launch
The much-hyped ’Chotukool’ refrigerator from the appliances division of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd may take a year to launch, according to company chairman Jamshyd Godrej. Godrej Appliances is test-marketing the product in Maharashtra. It was earlier eyeing a March 2010 launch. But, this may not happen, says Godrej, as the company looks at alternative channels of distribution. "By alternative channels, I mean a community-led distribution model. We are working ...
- Region
- South Asia
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Saving Holds Key to Women’s Empowerment
Once upon a time, Sumitra used to roam the streets of the Indian city of Ahmedabad, collecting discarded caps which could be recycled and sold back to manufacturers such as Coca-Cola. She would spend the whole day sifting through the rubbish collecting the caps in return for a few hundred rupees - about $2. Then in 2006, Sumitra was introduced to a microfinance initiative which provided her with a small loan to start her own business. Four years on, she employs five women, a...
- Region
- South Asia
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Helping Farmers Pedal Out of Poverty
He has reached over one million small and marginal farmers — those owning less than one acre — in India with his low-cost irrigation tools to meet their water needs. But ask Amitabha Sadangi, CEO of IDE (International Development Enterprises) - India, how we are treat...
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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