NextBillion - A WDI Publication

At Nokia, Handset Sales Jump But Revamp of Unit Hurts Profit

Nokia Corp.’s net income fell 4.1%, despite a sharp rise in revenue and cellphone shipments, as strong demand for low-end handsets hurt the Finnish company’s profit margins. Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, said it shipped 88.5 million phones in the third quarter compared with 66.6 million units a year ago. But average selling prices declined to ?93 from ?102 due to an increasing proportion of sales of low-priced phones in emerging markets.

Source

Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

NetCore CEO Rajesh Jain Interview

Excerpt of an interview with NetCore CEO Rajesh Jain: Knowledge@Wharton: You were among the first entrepreneurs in India to recognize the potential of the Internet when you launched the IndiaWorld portal and websites like khoj.com, samachar.com, and khel.com. What was your assessment of the infrastructure of the web at that time, and how does it compare with your view of the Internet in India today? Jain: When we launched IndiaWorld in March 1995, commerci...

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Knowledge @ Wharton (link opens in a new window)

Germany to Focus G8 on Africa Investment

Germany is proposing that the Group of Eight leading industrial nations next year forge ?reform partnerships? with a select group of well-governed African democracies to help them attract international private investment. A senior official from Germany, which takes over the presidency of the G8 in January, sought to distinguish Berlin?s plans from last year?s British G8 presidency, which focused on debt relief and increased aid to Africa. [...]

Source

Financial Times (link opens in a new window)

Latin America remittances support investments

Latin Americans working in the United States are sending back more money to their families and investing increasing amounts in homes and small businesses, according to a study commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank. The study ? based on more than 2,500 telephone interviews with migrants and their families in nine countries ? found that the average monthly amount sent has risen from $240 to $300 in the past two years. As many as one-third of respondents s...

Source

Financial Times (link opens in a new window)

Mobiles to help track diseases

Mobile phone technology is being developed to help manage the spread of diseases such as HIV and bird flu. The software is designed to allow field workers using handsets to send and receive data on disease outbreaks along with patient and drug information. The project is a collaboration between technology firm Voxiva and the trade association for mobile operators, GSMA. Trials of the relatively low-cost application are underway in Rwanda, Afric...

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BBC News World Edition (link opens in a new window)

Diverse Group of Nine Finalists Qualify For Sustainability Awards

Sustainable North Carolina has named nine organizations that combine strong financial returns with environmental stewardship and social responsibility as finalists for its fifth annual awards. ?The diversity of the organizations that qualified as finalists show that sustainability is growing in North Carolina,? said Katy Ansardi, president of Sustainable North Carolina. ?We are looking forward to naming the winners at the awards presentation on Oct. 30.? There are three fin...

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The Open Press (link opens in a new window)

Microsoft’s Mundie: A bottom-up approach to tech

For a good part of 2006, Craig Mundie has been on a jet plane visiting Microsoft customers and political leaders in other parts of the world. Craig Mundie was one of the premier speakers at the December 2004 WRI Conference; ’Eradicating Poverty Through Profit.’ I found one quote from this article particularly interesting: I’ve been the liaison to China for the last seven years, and India for the last four years, and Russia for the last three years. So in many of t...

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News.Com (link opens in a new window)

Uganda: DFCU Boosts SMEs

DFCU Limited has received credit worth sh22b from the European Investment Bank to lend to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Announcing the deal, Moses Kibirige, the executive director, said the facility would serve SMEs interested in expanding and growing their businesses through leasing over the next one year. The funds will finance eligible SMEs in agro-business, fishing, mining, construction, tourism, transport, education and health care, Kibirige said.

Source

New Vision (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa