NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Avon Budgets RM100m Micro Credit Loans

Avon Cosmetics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the largest direct selling cosmetics company in Malaysia, allocates micro credit loans of RM100 million annually to provide business opportunities, especially for women. "Through the Avon micro credit loans financing, we provide loans of between RM1,000 to RM70,000 to distributors without a deposit or interest," said Avon president Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, Mansoor Wan Abdullah. He was speaking to reporters after ...

Source

Business Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Amid Japan?s Earthquake, Entrepreneurship

By Elmira Bayrasli 700 times. That’s how much stronger, the U.S. Geological Survey says , Friday’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake in northern Japan was than the one that hit Haiti at 7.0 last year. Luckily the damage and the loss of life in Japan, though in the hundreds of thousands, was not 700 times larger. ...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Wen Jiabao Vows To Eradicate Chinese Poverty By 2020

Chinese authorities have released a series of announcements indicating that they might be beginning to correct their share of the so-called "global imbalances" by channeling domestic spending and revving up imports. While Premier Wen Jiabao announced on Saturday that his administration would look to "actively boost consumer demand," the government-approved China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) announced a record number of Chinese trade delegations would make the...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Behind the Seams: The Disadvantaged Women Creating Hong Kong Fashion

The founders of Dialog Worldbutik, Malaysian Dong Shing Chiu and New Generation Award winner Cassandra Postema, started their social business after the 2004 tsunami. They sold " Hope Tee " T-shirts for tsunami relief fundraising and expanded into women’s handbags and accessories using recycled materials by 2007. "Eco-friendly and fair trade is our trademark and the stories behind our designs are important. But the design...

Source

CNN Go (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Former Lehman Banker Leads Social Ventures in China, Battles Dyslexia in Schools

China’s social entrepreneurship scene is not all that well known , but the Hong Kong-based Avantage Ventures is trying to change that by infusing the country with a hefty dose of capital and mentorship. The company is led by founder Yvonne Li, a former investment banker with Lehman Brothers, who has a particular zest ...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Investing In China’s Future One Student At A Time

For Calvin Chin , the road to higher education requires just a few hundred dollars at the right moment. Take Winnie, for instance. She was a senior at Guangzhou University when her father had to quit his teaching job because his eyesight started to fail him. He went back to working...

Source

The Huffington Post (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

Diamond Cab Picks Up Hong Kong’s Fledgling Social Entrepreneurship Scene

Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon in Hong Kong--and one venture philanthropy startup, Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk) , has been at the forefront of the movement, with several investees under its portfolio focused on the elderly and disabled. The group’s newest project, Diamond Cab , officially launches next week. "Diamond Cab is the first branded, high-quality taxi servic...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture

Region

Asia Pacific

China’s Top Social Innovators to Watch in 2011

By Calvin Chin I firmly believe that China will be a leader in social innovation. But while there is a tremendous amount of dynamism and energy in this newly emerging sector, ...

Source

CNN Global (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific