NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Tata?s Nano, the Car That Few Want to Buy

Though car sales have shot up across India, because of an economy that is growing at nearly 9 percent annually, sales of the Nano have been falling for the last four months. Its maker, Tata Motors , sold only 509 Nanos to its dealers in...

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Thailand Post Wins Green Light to Lend

The cabinet yesterday approved a plan by Thailand Post to set up a subsidiary to provide microfinance services to low-income earners, using its nationwide post offices as a channel. Information and Communications Technology Minister Juti Krairiksh said that the subsidiary would have initial registered capital of 50 million baht and would extend loans as small as 10,000 baht each. He said that there are about 18 million low-income earners in the country who still have no access to ...

Source

Bangkok Post (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Tags

manufacturing

Malaysian Minister Pledges Help for Ethnic Indians

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will initiate a slew of measures, including access to micro-credit facilities and skills training, to improve the economic condition of its 2.1 million ethnic Indians, a senior minister said Wednesday. Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the citizenship and welfare issues of the Indian community would be resolved by the end of next year. He said the cabinet committee’s special task force has identified 20 areas in the country with a high c...

Source

Sify News (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Acumen Fund Invests $11 Million in 9 Pakistan Sectors

KARACHI - The Acumen Fund has invested $11 million in nine different sectors for poverty alleviation in Pakistan. "The Fund started its investment in Pakistan in 2006 with an initial investment of $1 million, which has now increased to $11 million in 2010", Zubyr Soomro, chairman of Acumen Fund Pakistan Advisory Council, said at the Acumen Fund Community Annual Gathering 2010 at a hotel here on Saturday. He spoke about his personal journey with the Acumen Fund, and the inspiration ...

Source

Business Recorder (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Big Trouble for Microfinance

OVER the past month, we’ve covered the ongoing crisis in the microfinance industry in Andhra Pradesh, the state in India where microfinance-especially, but not only its for-profit variant exemplified by recent stock-market debutant SKS-has grown most rapidly and has the largest number of borrowerss. The situation on the ground seems to have remained largely unchanged since we covered the story ...

Source

The Economist (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Kids Test Solar-Powered Computer Tablet for Schools in India

The One Laptop Per Child project might need to step up, now that tablet devices are on the scene. Rice University has partnered up with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Villages for Development and Learning Foundation in India to develop a solar powered tablet computer that can be used in schools that lack electricity. Dubbed the "I-Slate," it is already being tested out in classrooms. ...

Source

Treehugger.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

What?s Policy Got to Do With Social Enterprise?

By Lindsay Clinton Many social entrepreneurs and social investors tend to avoid inviting the government to their table because it often means a slow, fat-fingered solution, rather than a targeted, nimble infusion of resources. However, government policy can also serve as a growth catalyst and a broad-based enabler, and, as such, cannot be overlooked as an important partner in the development of social enterprise as a sector. What does a marriage between social enterprise and...

Source

Wall Street Journal - India Realtime (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

India Microfinance Body: Sector Facing Survival Threat

MUMBAI -(Dow Jones)- India’s microfinance sector could be all but wiped out if immediate steps aren’t taken to rescue it, after authorities in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh initiated steps to tighten its grip over their lending activities, the president of a local representative body said Friday. "By Dec. 31, if this situation continues, there will be no microfinance sector in 2011," Vijay Mahajan of Microfinance Institution Network, or MFIN, told reporters on the sidelin...

Source

Dow Jones (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia