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Pioneers of Prosperity Select 2009 Winners
The 2009 Pioneers of Prosperity Caribbean program is pleased to announce that Bulkan Timber Works of Guyana has taken the competition’s grand prize. Alternative Insurance Company of Haiti and Totally Male Ltd. of Jamaica were also recognized. On September 11, 2009, ten finalists from seven countries across the Caribbean competed for a grant of US $100,000 to invest in the growth of their company, and the prestigious title of Pioneer of Prosperity. The Honorable Orette Bruce Goldin...
- Region
- Latin America
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Danone May Apply Bangladesh Lessons to India
Groupe Danone, the $18-billion French dairy company, is understood to be exploring a strategy for India which will leverage on its experience in Bangladesh. One of the things Danone is studying is to enter with an affordable initiative, what it internally calls a bottom of the pyramid one. Danone has a joint venture with The Grameen Group in that country, from early 2006, with a focus on easily affordable dairy products. The Grameen Danone Foods model relies on the creat...
- Region
- South Asia
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A Fresh Start – Rural Job Seekers Find a Brighter Future
To get a sense of India’s rural-urban union, drop in on a McDonald’s restaurant in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where hungry customers scan the brightly lit menu panel above the counter and line up to place orders. The eatery, nestled in a busy shopping mall in downtown Hyderabad, is unique: Most of the youngsters flipping burgers and taking orders are not city slickers, but employees recruited from India’s rural belly. Take college dropout K. Bhargavi, 23, who...
- Region
- South Asia
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Economic Crisis Forces Businesses to Focus on the Poor
In India, the economic crisis may actually be good news. During the salad days of the past decade, India’s entrepreneurs grew fat selling gas guzzlers and palatial homes to the country’s new rich, while ignoring the needs of the biggest segment of Indian consumers: the poor. It was an expatriate Indian, the University of Michigan’s C.K. Prahalad, who first posited that there were millions to be made selling to the "bottom of the pyramid." Now that’s start...
- Region
- South Asia
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Social Entrepreneur Has Venture Backing to Light Up the World
D.light Design Inc., which manufactures and sells solar-powered lamps in poor areas of the globe, is an example of a company that seeks to bring entrepreneurship to a social mission. GlobalAtlanta met representatives of the company during the First East Africa Energy Conference held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in June. The company, which was incorporated in May 2007, opened its East Africa office in Tanzania this year. Sam Goldman, a co-founder, was a Peace Corps volunte...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Indian Regulations Stifling for Social Investing
Harold Rosen founded the Grassroots Business Initiative (GBI) of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation in 2004. In 2008, GBI spun off into the non-profit Grassroots Business Fund, which, among other things, looks at funding socially relevant projects in India. Rosen spoke to Atul Sethi about the potential of social enterprise funding in India: What makes you want to invest in India? India’s world-class, cost-effective skilled labour force canno...
- Region
- South Asia
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Phillips Develops Off-Grid Lighting for Africa
Phillips apparently sees a fruitful market among the nearly 2 billion people who lack access to electricity. The company is rolling out a small line of lighting products specifically designed for the needs of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. We’ve seen Phillips’ interest in this area before with its smokeless cooking stove, and we’ve seen what a difference simple lighting technology can make for rural communities. An entrant into this year’s Index Award,...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Bottom of the Pyramid Plan Boosts Revenues
Family Bank has transformed itself from a building society formed in 1984 to a fully-fledged bank. The indigenous bank has since its conversion in May 2007 been on a growth path in terms of customer outreach and the bottom line. It boasts of 44 branches spread across the country. Within the last one year the bank has added 11 branches to its network ,indicating its growth momentum. Operating in an increasingly competitive market, the bank has managed to hold its head high among its...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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