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Afghanistan to auction mobile phone licences, by Elizabeth Judge
War-ravaged Afghanistan has become the latest frontier for mobile phone companies looking for unsaturated markets. The country, which is seeking to rebuild itself after the US invasion, is to auction off two mobile phone licences based on the GSM (global system for mobile communications) standard used in Europe. The licences are expected to go for millions of pounds each. But the Government hopes that the auction, which will take place during the next two months, will also raise up to $200...
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- The Times
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Microcredit Makes Strong Inroads in Latin America and Caribbean, by Gustavo Gonz?lez
Yunus, who founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976, once again pointed out that the lowest-income clients have the highest payback rates of all, when they are given access to loans at reasonable interest rates, without having to put up collateral. He also underlined that 56 percent of the Grameen Bank’s clients in Bangladesh (who are mainly women) have been able to leave behind extreme poverty. According to the main report presented at the summit, of the 54.8 million poor c...
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- IPS
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7,000 Women in Chipata to Benefit From Information Project, Kingsley Kaswende
Over 7,000 women in rural Chipata are to benefit from agricultural marketing information project called the Chipata Women’s Mobile SMS project initiated by One World Africa (OWA) and Celtel Zambia. The project is an information for development project that aims to help women in rural areas of Chipata to access agricultural marketing price information and to disseminate the availability of produce for potential buyers through the use of SMS (short message service). One World Africa...
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- The Post (Lusaka)
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Google foundation may invest in for-profit firms, by Jim Hopkins
Challenging convention, Google’s maverick founders might join other entrepreneurs trying a capitalist approach to philanthropy. The nascent Google Foundation is weighing investments in for-profit firms that also pursue worthy causes. That’s a switch from mainstream philanthropy, where money goes to non-profit charities. Complete story here. ...
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- USA Today
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Unilever focuses on emerging markets
Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, Unilever, is focusing on emerging markets in its quest for stronger global growth after implementing structural changes, a senior company executive said on Thursday. Doug Baillie, vice-president in charge of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Turkey, also told Reuters in an interview that Unilever might consider making an acquisition in fast-growing Turkey, though it had no concrete plans at present. ?We get 35% of our total revenues from emerging ma...
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- The Star Online
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Tech giant enters Kenya market, by Luke Mulunda
The Communications Commission of Kenya, the country’s telecom regulator, in January issued Afsat with a licence to operate public data communications services after the segment was liberalised last June. With the force of a ram raring to have a go at its opponent, Afsat has hit the ground running with its flagship product, iWay Africa. We can now provide Vsat services anywhere in Kenya, said Suleman, a tough-taking manager with an eye for big business. We have the coverage...
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- The Financial Standard
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Championing entrepreneurship, by Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Believe and inspire. This is the new battle cry of Jose Ma A. Concepcion III, presidential consultant for entrepreneurship, to get more people involved in the movement to increase the number of Filipinos running their own businesses. Small entrepreneurs are today’s wealth creators, and tomorrow’s big companies, Concepcion said in a speech during the recently concluded conference of the United Nations Development Program. For an economy to thrive, we must give...
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- Philippine Daily Inquirer
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Business has responsibility and opportunity in Africa, by Niall Fitzgerald
There is an exciting business opportunity. African leaders, increasingly elected democratically, know they must commit themselves to good governance, investment, and economic growth. There have been big improvements in macroeconomic performance. Growth in gross domestic product will exceed 5 percent in 2005. The commission report should result in a big increase in investment, particularly for infrastructure. A successful completion of the Doha round will stimulate trade with and within Africa. ...
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- The Christian Science Monitor
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