NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Ecuador Expanding Access to Microcredit for Low-Income Women

Ecuador will expand access to microcredit, particularly among low-income women, through a $50 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) aimed at increasing employment opportunities and reducing poverty. The National Program for Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Solidarity (PNFPEES) will be the executing agency for the program, which will contribute to its strategy for fostering economic inclusion with particular emphasis on financing for women entrepreneur...

Source

Hispanically Speaking News (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Rural Peru Gets Connected

The connection was not of crisp video quality, but the chorus of schoolchildren from San José de Huamaní, near Ica in the south, could be heard loud and clear: "Good morning," they chanted. Hundreds of kilometres away, they were greeted with applause, through video link, by a brightly lit conference room full of Peruvian and European Union officials. They were meeting in Lima to announce the completion of an ...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Uruguayan Farmers Tackles Climate Change

The World Bank approved a US$49 million loan to support Uruguayan farmers tackle climate change. In their efforts, farmers are adopting environmentally sustainable practices to improve the resilience of their production systems in response to the effects of climate variability. The program is called the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Climate Change. This will benefit 16,000 Uruguayan farmers through co-financing of land projects to improve their production systems, the ...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education

Region

Latin America

ANDE Releases Report on Social and Inclusive Businesses in Brazil

Data from new research coordinated by the Brazil Chapter of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), the AVINA Foundation, and Potencia Ventures demonstrates significant growth for social and inclusive businesses in Brazil. The purpose of the study was to identify which regions and groups are fueling the most economic and social change. The report, released this week in English in time for Global Entrepreneurship Week, reveals a changing lands...

Source

Press Release (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Trashy TV with a Message: Soap Opera Attempts to Teach Women About Finances

Entertaining as they may be, soap operas are not generally thought of as learning tools--unless you want to learn whose evil twin is having an affair with whose sister. But as parents can attest from hours of sitting through shows like Sesame Street , television is an effective teaching mechanism when used correctly. And where children may be attracted to a learning program by giant yellow birds and monsters living in trash cans, adults can be swayed by dramatic plotlines and engaging...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Pro Mujer Announces $1 Billion Dollar Milestone at Annual “Giving Women Credit” Benefit

Pro Mujer, a non-profit, women’s development and microfinance organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and empowering women in Latin America, held its annual "Giving Women Credit" Benefit at Cipriani 42nd Street on Wednesday evening in New York City. Kathleen A. Corbet, Founder & Principal of Cross Ridge Capital, was recognized as "Humanitarian of the Year" and Manuel Medina-Mora , C...

Source

PR Newswire (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Green Businesses in Developing World Get $60M Boost, Along With Microfinance

The International Finance Corp. (IFC), a member of the World Bank group, is launching a $60 million equity financing mechanism to "promote homegrown green innovation in developing countries while encouraging the transfer of clean technologies from developed countries to developing countries." The Cleantech Innovation Facility will help small, highly innovative start-up companies that offer products or services that mitigate carbon emissions. It will n...

Source

SustainableBusiness.com (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Health Care

Region

Latin America

International Medical Corps Helps Haiti in its Long Haul

International Medical Corps is a model for global not-for-profits, with a plan that goes way beyond drop-in disaster relief. In Haiti, IMC is training locals, building communities, and doing everything it can to put itself to pasture. Dan Khodabakhsh doesn’t require a whole lot of sleep. It’s perfectly normal, in fact, for the 33-year-old doctor to work a double shift bandaging up drunks and pulling bullets from teenagers in the emergency room of UCLA’s Harbor Medical Center...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America