NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Real Economic Development in Afghanistan

A successful woman-run rug business has been operating for the last five years in Afghanistan. Arzu Rugs currently employs 600 people and provides direct economic support to almost four times that many. Arzu means “hope” in Dari. In addition to the well-paying jobs created by the rug-weaving work, the company funnels its profits back to the community in the form of medical care, education, and social services that touch the lives of an estimated 100,000 Afghans. Arzu was cre...

Source

Center for American Progress (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Three noted businesswomen team up to help microentrepreneurs

The dynamic troika of Chit Juan, Jeannie Javelosa and Reena Francisco has given a new definition to social enterprise, which is a response to the current conditions. The Environment and Community Hope Organization—or Echo—Store is a business enterprise operating for a profit “but with a social cause,” said Juan, who heads the marketing component of Echo Store. Founded six months ago, the Echo Store has become the hub of product...

Source

Business Mirror (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

World’s Cheapest Car Hits Indian Streets

by Phil Hazlewood The world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, hit the streets on Friday, as the first customer got the keys to a vehicle that its makers hope will transform travel for millions of Indians. Ashok Raghunath Vichare took delivery of a lunar silver Nano LX model, one of three cars handed over in person by Tata Motors boss Ratan Tata at a city dealership. The 59-year-old customs official from Mumbai said only that he was "very happy" to have got his hands...

Source

Yahoo News (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Drug Firms See Poorer Nations as Sales Cure

Julio Rodriguez was on a sales call at a clinic in this slum overlooking Caracas recently when he heard four gunshots go off nearby. It was business as usual for Mr. Rodriguez. As a representative in Venezuela for U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., his sales route takes him through one of Latin America’s most dangerous neighborhoods. To avoid attracting attention, he wears a polo shirt with a red logo, the color worn by suppor...

Source

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

Startup addict: Ars interviews Microsoft’s Amit Mital

Amit Mital, corporate vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group and Startup Business Accelerator, should have his title scrapped and replaced with "startup addict." You might be asking what a startup addict is doing at Microsoft, but even a software giant still needs someone to come along and turn ideas into new products. During his 15 years with Microsoft, Mital has been in a leadership role for the shipping of 11 products. His most recent launch was Live Mesh, where he was...

Source

Ars Technica (link opens in a new window)

Are Businesses Without Benefactors Better?

Usually a hot startup bankrolled by eager investors doesn’t care much about its burn rate. In the case of Envirofit, though, that was the obsession from the beginning. The company sells cookstoves to "bottom of the pyramid" customers in India and the Philippines, and thanks to innovative engineering, they use less kerosene, burn hotter, and produce 80% less noxious fumes than the most commonly used models. So impressive is the technology that its inventor, engineer Bryan Willson, was hono...

Source

Harvard Business Review (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

India Inc feasts on charm

The much-awaited visit of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton got off to an early start in the commercial capital over breakfast with the doyens of India Inc. The chefs at the Taj Mahal Palace & Towers had prepared several delicacies for the power pow wow. The dishes remained untouched because there was too much food for thought. “Nobody ate breakfast. We were riveted by this charismatic lady in strawberry pink and ...

Source

The Telegraph (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

India’s Indigenous Genius: Jugaad

Etymology aside, I have always been convinced that the word indigenous arose from India. To make something out of limited resources is India’s genius and, therefore, indigenous. After centuries of foreign attacks, changing cultures and ever-evolving political stands, India has somehow managed to create an insular economy where we create what we need from what we have. In India, we call this jugaad and you can see a jugaad car on the highways of North India made from spare parts. Inn...

Source

Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia