NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Sa?d Business School: US Marines Call on Social Entrepreneur in Afghanistan

When Connie Duckworth received a call from the office of Commanding General of the Marines First Expeditionary Force operating in Afghanistan, she was surprised to say the least. Ms Duckworth is a social entrepreneur working in poor rural communities in Afghanistan well beyond the theatre of war. The Marines, however, had heard about her approach to developing sustainable economic growth within these communities and wanted to learn more. Ms Duckworth’s social venture ARZU has been w...

Source

The Financial (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education

Region

North Africa & Near East

USAID, IYF To Promote Entrepreneurship Among Palestinian Youth

A $15 million initiative to improve entrepreneurship , civic engagement and employment opportunities for young people in the Palestinian territories has been launched in Ramallah in the West Bank. The four-year program is a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development and the International Youth Foundation. Dubbed the "Youth Entrepreneurship Development" program, it aims to help young people between 1...

Source

Devex (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East

PPAF Sets Up Wind Turbines, Solar Panels for Power Generation

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), in partnership with Aga Khan Planing and Building Services- Pakistan (AKPBS-P), has set up wind turbines and solar panels to provide environmentally friendly electricity to approximately 6,500 people in 29 villages of district Thatta in Sindh province. According to PPAF sources, the AKPBS-P, with the support from PPAF, the World Bank and the contribution by the village residents in the form of unskilled labour, installed 29 wind t...

Source

Business Recorder (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East

Why We Need Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East

The tremors shaking the Middle East have not fully subsided, but the ominous question already looms: What comes next? Much of the media focus has been on political reform, as tyrants are toppled and drama unfolds with the suspense of a Hollywood movie, but the demands of protestors have been clear: They want political and economic reform. Very little attention, as yet, has been paid to the...

Source

Inc. (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East

In Egypt, Will an Economic Revolution Follow?

The popular uprising in Egypt has quickly been accorded a conventional explanation: The people want democratic government. This is not necessarily wrong, but it risks ignoring deep-seated trends in Egypt that, if neglected in the coming political transition, will only boil over again. Specifically, Egypt suffers from a stagnant economy and it should not be surprising that a lack of economic opportunity contributed to ...

Source

Inc. (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East

Egypt Plans Stimulus to Revive ?Sudden Stop? Economy

Ashraf Abdel-Wanis had plenty of reasons to join tens of thousands of fellow Egyptians in their successful push to oust President Hosni Mubarak. At 39, he last worked five years ago in a sugar factory and now gets by mainly on his wife’s $50 monthly salary and his mother’s pension. "The Egyptian family’s nutrition consists of beans, lentils and beans," he said in an interview in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the plaza at the heart of almost three weeks of protests. "If they’...

Source

Bloomberg (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East

Citi, Citi Foundation join hands with PMN

KARACHI: Citi and the Citi Foundation have joined hands with the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) to launch Phase II of their flood relief efforts. Citi, the Citi Foundation and Citi Alumni have contributed over $425,000 toward the recent flooding disaster in the country. As part of Citi Pakistan’s Phase II of flood relief efforts, they have launched a ’Microfinance and Disaster Management Capacity Building Programme’ for the microfinance industry with the PMN. Through these pr...

Source

Daily Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East

Islamic Micro Lenders Set Up Global Network

LAHORE: Islamic Microfinance Network (IMFN) has been set up to assemble the international Islamic Microfinance organisations on one platform, a statement said. The IMFN head office is in Lahore and its regional offices will be in Ghana, Mauritius and Middle East. According to IMFN official the board members of IMFN are Farida Tariq, Chairperson, Amjad Saqib, Vice Chairman, and Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer. Kawako Yasuma, CEO, Ghana Islami...

Source

TheNews.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

North Africa & Near East