NextBillion - A WDI Publication

NextBillion is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, at a time of immense global change and uncertainty. But a few things haven’t changed: Business and entrepreneurship continue to be important factors in solving some of the world’s most urgent challenges. Investments in emerging markets continue to catalyze innovation where it is needed most. And access to accurate sources of knowledge and insights continues to play an outsized role in helping entrepreneurs and investors unlock growth and impact.

As NextBillion embarks on its third decade of covering impact-focused business in emerging markets, the site continues to share actionable, practitioner-generated insights to help shape this ongoing conversation.

Launched in 2005 by the World Resources Institute (WRI), NextBillion originated as a space to advance dialogues from WRI’s “Eradicating Poverty Through Profit: Making Business Work for the Poor” conference. From the outset, it ignited new conversations around the intersection of development and enterprise, engaging a dynamic network of entrepreneurs, investors, researchers and others in low- and middle-income markets.

As the social business movement accelerated, NextBillion grew in both reach and in depth. Content evolved from short, informal blog posts to more comprehensive and professionally edited articles. In 2010, the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan (WDI) joined as co-manager, guiding the platform as it documented the waves of business innovation that were transforming key sectors, from finance and agriculture, to healthcare and energy. After WRI’s departure in 2012, WDI assumed sole ownership, supporting the site’s evolution and editorial team.  

Today, NextBillion is a vital platform within WDI’s portfolio, serving alongside the WDI Academy and WDI Publishing as a Knowledge Builder. Through training, publication of business cases, applied research and shared insights, WDI works to empower leaders and innovators to make more informed decisions and scale their impact. In recognition of the site’s 20th anniversary, WDI has refreshed NextBillion’s logo to better reflect this alignment with the broader organization.

As one of the pioneering websites covering social enterprise and business initiatives in emerging markets, NextBillion has published thousands of guest-written articles, documenting two decades of innovations, accomplishments and setbacks across sectors. Along with its curated news, jobs, events and business development opportunities, these rigorously edited original articles move beyond empty platitudes and unsupported claims to deliver useful tools and real-world guidance and inspiration.

The site’s 20th anniversary offers an opportunity for both celebration and reflection. This week, on its homepage and LinkedIn page, NextBillion will begin spotlighting a variety of influential guest articles that captured key conversations, controversies and challenges that have shaped the development of social enterprise and emerging markets business over the past two decades — and that continue to shape these sectors today. 

We are grateful to our readers and guest writers for your support and engagement over the past 20 years, and we invite you to join us as we chart NextBillion’s next phase of growth. Your engagement and insights have been vital to our journey, as we work together to build a prosperous future for impact-focused businesses and the communities they serve.

Photo credit: dmbaker