NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Investors Assume the Worst for SKS Microfinance

That SKS Microfinance Ltd will have to write off part of its Andhra Pradesh (AP) loan book is inescapable. If there is any difference of opinion among brokerages, it is just in the matter of degree. Some assume 40% of its AP advances will have to be forgone, while others paint a bleaker picture at 90%. The fourth quarter (Q4) results of the firm make for grim reading, with falling net interest income, spreads and return on assets. Not only did SKS lose Rs. 70 crore, its collec...

Source

LiveMint (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Yunus loses final appeal against dismissal

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a final appeal by "banker to the poor" Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus against his dismissal as managing director of Grameen Bank, the micro-lender he founded. A government probe last month cleared Grameen of financial irregularities, but the finding did not change the decision to fire him. Yunus, 70, was dismissed on the grounds that he had overstayed his position and refused requests to quit. [ID:nSGE73401G] The official retireme...

Source

Reuters (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

A Look at Three Models of Philanthro-Capitalism

A market based approach to philanthropy, with one eye firmly on the bottom line, can be an effective way for entrepreneurs to meet their social goals. take a close look at three such models of philanthro-capitalism. ...

Source

Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Sachet King Moves to Shed Regional Tag

Chinni Krishnan Ranganathan is best known for selling shampoo in 50-paise sachets in the seventies - almost a decade before multinational competitors such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble woke up to the huge potential in India’s bottom of the pyramid market. But CavinKare’s Chairman and Managing Director has many others firsts to his credit, enhancing his reputation as somebody who is super-fast in spotting new opportunities. So when sachet became commoditised, Ranganathan t...

Source

Business Standard (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Sam Pitroda To Deliver Keynote Address At Sankalp 2011

Mumbai, Maharashtra, April 28, 2011 / India PRwire / -- Mr. Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, and Chairman of the National Innovation Council is scheduled address over 500 social enterprise enthusiasts at the 3rd Annual Sankalp Social Enterprise and Investment Forum (www.sankalpforum.com), scheduled for May 5-6 at Taj Lands End in ...

Source

India PRWire (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Paymate, IFMR tie up to drive financial inclusion

Paymate, India’s leading mobile payments company, and IFMR Rural Finance, have announced a tie-up to launch multiple financial inclusion projects through Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS) entities. As a part of this initiative, the company has unveiled a mobile phone based person-to-person money transfer initiative in the Delhi to Uttarakhand corridor as well as piloted a micro-loan repayments in villages in Ganjam, Orissa. Commenting on the launch of these initiatives, Aja...

Source

Business Standard (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

GE Remodels Businesses in India

BANGALORE, India-As General Electric Co. assessed the lingering impact of the global financial crisis, it saw that some emerging markets-chief among them India-had come through the trauma better than the developed world. The Fairfield, Conn., company has been in India for more than a century, but it revamped its operations there only a few years ago to tap into the country’s large consumer m...

Source

The Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

South Asia

Tags

scale

Amit Bhatia’s Aspire: Matching Rural Workers With Jobs

BIG IDEA: To supply India’s booming economy with millions of young workers who come from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds. Bhatia’s company, Aspire, trains high-school and college students to become English-speaking, tech-savvy, problem-solving whiz kids ready for hire. The company then connects students to jobs, often in the technology and service sectors, at major corporations such as IBM, Accenture, Wipro, and Infosys. This year, Aspire will work with rough...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia