NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Globe Talk: Mobile banking as aid tool

Excerpt: Mobile phones are becoming commonplace enough in some of the remotest parts of the world, much to the delight of both private companies and public policymakers. For phone manufacturers and service providers, some of the globe’s poorest people have turned out to be one of their most profitable demographic groups, while for international development agencies, the proliferation of mobile handsets is one key means to bridge the ever-increasing technological divide between rich and poor....

Source

Middle East Times (link opens in a new window)

Development bank seeks new approach to Latin America’s problems

Excerpt: With leftist politicians on the rise throughout Latin America, Washington policymakers are turning their sights on the left-behind majorities fueling the populist surge. It is the latest struggle for the hearts and minds of people in a region swept first by free market reforms favored by the U.S. government and now buffeted by a shift to more home-grown policies that sometimes fly in the face of the United States. Sensing a seismic shift in South American sentimen...

Source

Miami Herald (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Tata promises Rs 1 lakh car by 2008

Excerpt: Tata Motors on Friday said it would launch the much-touted Rs one lakh car in early 2008, as the company had completed its styling and designing and tested the prototypes within the plant. Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata told shareholders that the launch of the car would create a new paradigm in low-cost personal transport, carve out a new market segment and reach a broader base of the pyramid. ...

Source

Hindustan Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

WDI’s Ted London Selected as Finalist for Best Dissertation Award

Excerpt: Ted London, William Davidson Institute (WDI) director of the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) research initiative and a faculty member at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, has been selected as a finalist for the Barry M. Richman Dissertation Award....

Source

University of Michigan Website (link opens in a new window)

The World Is Hot

Abstract: New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman writes about climate change and its impact in the developing world. Note: TimesSelect is needed to view this article....

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

The New Frontlines of Capitalism: Microcredit Comes to Borguind?

Abstract: A Peace Corp volunteer writes about her experience starting a microfinance program in Burkina Faso....

Source

The Globalist (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

MTN eyes 3G, mobile banking launch in Nigeria

Abstract: Cellular giant MTM expects to apply for a liscence to provide mobile banking services in Nigeria....

Source

Reuters South Africa (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Grameen Shakti, Rahimafrooz win world’s leading green energy award

Abstract: The Ashden Awards recognized four "pioneering projects from Bangladesh, India, Mexico and Tanzania," which brought electricity to rural areas through green power....

Source

Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa