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Wolfowitz links corruption to poverty
We feel very strongly that when there is systemic corruption in a country, to great levels, then the resources do not reach the poor, said Huguette Labelle, president of Transparency International, a private corruption watchdog. There are so many countries that should be very rich today because of their natural resources, but they’re not, Labelle told delegates attending the World Bank meetings. Governments, companies and financial institutions must unite...
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World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation
The report will focus on?crucial capabilities and transitions in a young person’s life: learning for life and work, staying healthy, working, forming families, and exercising citizenship. For each, there are opportunities and risks; for all, policies and institutions matter.? More ab...
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Linux v. Microsoft: Third World Showdown
So, in the brewing battle of Windows vs. Ubuntu, Mark Shuttleworth’s stated belief that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local languages and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. If you think that’s all standard Linux/Open Source talk, you’re right. The difference is that instead of trying to convert...
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Study: Remittance recipients more willing to invest in LatAm – Regional
A growing number of remittance recipients in Latin America and the Caribbean are willing to invest in the region, the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) said in a study. The main goals of these migrants are to own a home or establish their own businesses in their countries of origin, but only a third of them have made such investments, mostly in real estate. Five years ago, 95% of the migrants polled said they had no investments in their hom...
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Super-rich in move to ease African poverty
US economist Jeffrey Sachs has been pursuing the strategy since 2004 through his non-profit Millennium Promise group. It aims to tackle myriad problems of poverty all at once by providing villagers with relatively inexpensive technologies and approaches, including mosquito nets to prevent malaria and stoves with chimneys to reduce deadly indoor air pollution. FINANCIER and philanthropist George Soros has offered $US50 million ($A66 million) to support a vast social experiment that aims to help v...
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EBRD signs first Mongolia project, microfinance loan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed its first project in Mongolia on Wednesday, a $5 million loan to XacBank, which specialises in microfinance. The funds will be lent on to small and micro-businesses throughout the country. XacBank, licensed four and a half years ago, offers loans ranging in size from $27 to $150,000, according to its Web site (www.xacbank.org). Continue reading ...
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Kenya aims for own internet cable
The announcement comes weeks after Kenya refused to sign up to a 23-nation plan to build an undersea telecommunications cable, East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), after disagreeing with South Africa about the cost and management of the project. The cable network that will connect East Africa to the rest of the world will also serve Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Somalia, said the statement, which gave no timetable for the project. Ke...
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ICICI Venture mulls 4 specialised funds
ICICI Venture has also tied up with seven of its key investors in its private equity funds that will co-invest with them in acquisitions and buying of stakes in companies. The need for a small-cap fund was felt because ICICI?s current funds are for bigger deals, with an average size of $75 million. The small-cap fund will invest in smaller and emerging companies, which require a fund infusion of between $10 million and $50 million. ICICI Venture is planning to set up four new special...
- Region
- South Asia
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