-
Hype And Hope: the Worrisome State of the Microcredit Movement
Is credit a human right? If these poor people could get small loans at manageable rates, they could break out of the cycle of poverty, or so the theory goes. John Kenneth Galbraith spoke to the point 30 years ago. ’The function of credit in a simple society is, in fact, remarkably egalitarian. It allows the man with energy and no money to participate in the economy more or less on a par with the man who has capital of his own. And the more casual the condition under which credit...
-
Sustainable Farm Practices Improve Third World Food Production
Crop yields on farms in developing countries that used sustainable agriculture rose nearly 80 percent in four years, according to a study scheduled for publication in the Feb. 15 issue of the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology. The study, the largest of its kind to date -- 286 farm projects in 57 countries -- concludes that sustainable agriculture protects the environment in these countries while substantially improving the lives of farmers who adopt the res...
-
Celebs and business luminaries discuss social change at the WEF, which has a key theme of reaching p
While it’s all too easy to poke fun at the celeb-ness of Davos, Gere, Jolie, and Stone will be joining the likes of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and C.K. Prahalad, University of Michigan professor of business administration, in serious discussions of how best to promote economic growth and development in Africa, South Asia, and other poor parts of the globe. I’ll be moderating two panels: How to Tap the Bottom of the Pyramid and Small Customers...
-
Seminar in New Delhi discusses commercial engagement with world?s poorest.
FMS, Delhi, in association with Centre of Civil Society organizes a Seminar on Local Entrepreneurship and Global Markets: Corporate Outreach to the Street and Village Entrepreneurs Date: February 4, 2006 Time: 3.45 p.m. Venue: Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi Discussion Background The idea that commercial engagement with world?s poorest (the Bottom of the Pyramid, BOP) presents corporations the op...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Far from being the enemy, the global private sector is the one certain way that poverty can be made
If business was mentioned at all during last year’s vocal Make Poverty History campaign, it was in criticism of the pernicious power of shady multinationals over the livelihoods of the poor. Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for International Development, thinks it’s time to defend business against the fury of the anti-globalisers and recognise that without a thriving private sector no country can free itself from poverty. ’The poor are the private sector,’ he says, ...
-
Africa Post-Gleneagles: threats and opportunities (or “will a year of talk be followed by a year of
The Romans named the first month of the year after the god Janus, who was depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. This allowed him to see backward and forward at the same time and at the end of the year, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. In that spirit, I would like to spend this evening reflecting on 2005- the Year of Africa- and more importantly, looking forward to the challenges for 2006 and beyond. I first e...
-
The main obstacle to the eradication of malaria lies within Africa itself
Jon Snow Phil Davis runs the insecticide division of the Japanese pharmaceutical multinational Sumitomo. He saw our report from Namasagali and offered to provide nets. Journalists and pharmaceutical companies do not mix easily. Inevitably, motives are questioned, misgivings expressed. But a few days ago, I accompanied him back to Namasagali. Davis and Sumitomo are corporate members of the Global Fund, and are drivers in the new partnership to Roll Back Malaria.
-
Business skills solving social ills
By Guy Robarts ?? ? Kailash Satyarthi has saved tens of thousands of lives by staging dangerous and daring dawn raids on Indian factories where children are brutally enslaved.? His mission is to wipe away the blot of human slavery. In Kenya, Martin Fisher and Nick Moon have helped impoverished families by doubling the yield of local farmers through a low-cost, manual water pump. Meanwhile, a new bank is loaning billions of pounds to the poor thanks to ...
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.