William Davidson Institute
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The William Davidson Institute (WDI), NextBillion’s parent organization, is an independent, non-profit education, research and applied practice organization established at the University of Michigan in 1992. Through a unique structure that integrates research, educational outreach, field-based collaborations, and development consulting services, WDI works with businesses, universities, development organizations, and governments in emerging economies to implement sound business practices and speed the transition to global engagement. WDI also provides a forum for academics, policy makers, business leaders, and development experts to enhance their understanding of these economies.
WDI is the leading U.S. institution of higher learning fully dedicated to understanding and promoting actionable business and public policy approaches to addressing the challenges and opportunities in emerging market economies.
Learn more about WDI in this brochure (PDF). Interactive flipbook below.
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Posts by William Davidson Institute
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Guest Articles
Tuesday
March 5
2019Still Waiting for a Seat at the Table: When Will Global Family Planning Focus on Smaller Private Providers?
The family planning community is not on track to reach its goal of 120 million new contraception users by 2020. And though millions of women in the world’s poorest countries rely on private providers for contraception, Andrea Bare at the William Davidson Institute notes that the private sector lacks a major presence in global family planning discussions. She says this needs to change, arguing that small, for-profit providers in particular can help close the gap.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Health Care
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Thursday
November 29
2018The Donor-Funded Dilemma: What’s Stopping Emerging Countries from Developing Private Markets for Contraceptives?
In sub-Saharan Africa, the private sector provides family planning solutions to almost 40 percent of women. But that isn’t the case in Malawi, a country that’s long been dominated by donor-funded commodities. Erika Beidelman and Andrea Bare at the William Davidson Institute explore Malawi's family planning landscape, highlighting five factors that may be limiting the private sector’s involvement – issues that may apply to other countries with histories of donor-funded healthcare.
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- Health Care
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Friday
November 16
2018Accelerating Energy Access in India: New Research Highlights Keys to Developing a Nascent Industry
India’s clean energy industry is growing fast. But the challenges facing enterprises there – and the lessons they are learning – are neither unique to the clean energy industry nor to India. In fact, says Colm Fay at the William Davidson Institute, recent research suggests that India’s clean energy sector is following patterns that can be observed in any nascent industry. He explores how existing knowledge about how industries develop can help guide investment, and provide some clues about what the sector’s future may hold.
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- Energy
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Thursday
October 11
2018Cracking the Nut: How a Cashew Enterprise Empowers Women in Rural Bali
Each day, East Bali Cashews (EBC) processes about 800 pounds of raw cashews, preparing them for snack production. The Indonesian company was launched about five years ago after a health care volunteer saw the impoverished conditions many agricultural workers face, and it now employs 400. But the statistic that most impresses Nadia Putri, an MBA candidate at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, is that more than 80 percent are women. After interning there this summer, Putri details how EBC works to advance women by providing training in everything from English to Excel.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Tuesday
June 5
2018From Local to Global: The Questions SMEs Should Answer Before Exporting
Whether it helps them survive in a competitive local economy or lets them scale beyond it, foreign market entry can be a vital step for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. But it also represents a major risk for a small business – one that can easily result in failure. Daniel DeValve of the William Davidson Institute highlights three case studies that explore the challenges Philippine SME owners faced in considering a move to a new market – along with the impact their decisions had on their businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Wednesday
May 9
2018Kristin Babbie Kelterborn / Amy Gillett
A Recipe for Understanding: How Food Entrepreneurship and Gastrodiplomacy are Bringing Syrian Refugees and Turks Closer
Nearly 6 million people have fled Syria's brutal civil war, with many settling in nearby Turkey. These refugees, as well as millions of other migrants around the world, often open restaurants and other eateries, drawing upon their cultural heritage to earn a living. The Livelihood Innovations through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) project was created to help these business owners – some 240 entrepreneurs will receive business support services offered at two food incubators.
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- Entrepreneurship
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Tuesday
April 3
2018Rebecca Baylor / Heather Esper / Yaquta Kanchwala Fatehi
Here’s How to Play Matchmaker to Social + Business Metrics ‘Power Couples’
For many businesses and organizations, the idea of measuring their impact can be scary, elusive or just plain boring. But pairing social and business metrics "power couples" can give organizations unique insights to solve key business challenges. In a new report, the William Davidson Institute shares the results of its work with three organizations to demystify data collection of their social impacts. Rebecca Baylor of WDI writes that the team's work proves impact measurement doesn't have to be as hard as it may seem.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Tuesday
February 20
2018Closing the Gap: Identifying Key Challenges for the Missing Middle SMEs in Francophone West Africa
Many small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries fall into the “missing middle”: They're too big for microfinance and too small or risky for traditional finance. To better understand this sector and how to support it, the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) commissioned studies on the entrepreneurial ecosystems of Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Togo. WDI's Ekta Jhaveri discusses the research with Julia Kho, knowledge manager at TripleJump, an investment management and advisory services firm that manages DGGF’s Investment Funds Local SMEs effort.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
