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Corporate social responsibility has become a buzzword as multinational companies focus not only on increasing their bottom lines, but also on issues of social importance, such as education, health and combating poverty. Cisco Systems’ CEO John Chambers is at the forefront of these efforts. Earlier this month, he was one of four recipients honored with the Inaugural Clinton Global Citizen Award. The award was presented by President Bill Clinton as part of the Clinton Global Initiat...
Good for Business, Good for Society?News
Even as the debate on equitable growth rages on, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath on Monday warned that the bubble of 9 per cent economic growth can burst if the benefits do not trickle down to the bottom of the pyramid and to every person in every part of the country. The 9 per cent economic growth will not be sustained till it touches everybody, even at the bottom of the ladder. I am afraid this could be a bubble waiting to burst if we do not c...
Growth Must Trickle Down to Bottom to be SustainableNews
A top banker called on the commercial banks to downscale to the ’Bottom of the Pyramid’ for sustainable economic development ? sustenance of the poor and stressed the great importance of banking with the poor.The plea was made by Chandula Abeywickrema, Deputy General Manager, Banking and Network Management, HNB during a presentation at the recently held Annual Convention of the Association of Professional Bankers, Sri Lanka. He said Commercial Banks can successfully down scale...
Microfinance Rescues People at the BottomNews
We had this discussion when we looked at what we called the next billion, he said, whether we should do another, what we call, a poor man’s network, a poor man’s phone, or something. But nothing is more cost-efficient than to build another billion of what you already [built a billion of]. So, whether it’s Bangladesh, or downtown Tokyo, or in New York, it’s the same equipment. That creates economies of scale right through. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson? (...
Ericsson’s Growth Heals the WorldNews
In the debate over how to manage the world’s finite natural resources, one issue that has stood out is water. Water pervades all sectors of society and is critical for short-term survival and human health as well as long-term economic development and environmental sustainability. Environmental problems, especially human-induced climate change, add to these pressures. Since water is a critical resource that is essential for sustaining life, the provision, supply and management of w...
The Global Water Crisis: Innovations to Watch ForNews
As the UN General Assembly meeting draws near and with it, discussion of the status of the Millennium Development Goals, development agencies, multilateral organizations, and governments in poor countries are waking up to the fact that multinational companies may be vital for their success. Public-private partnerships have never been hotter -- multinational corporations view them as an opportunity to practice corporate citizenship and expand their markets, while their public partners in...
From Chamber’s Business Civic Leadership Center: How Business Is Promoting Global DevelopmentNews
A small enterprise trader at the Maasai Market in Nairobi who fits the microfinance bank clientele profile. The MFBs have to consciously evaluate their strengths and plummet into a poor clientele with a wit and will to take risk while operating under commercial business principles. 20-September-2007: Recently, Business Daily ran what would easily be referred to as an excellent piece on Microfinance Banking in Kenya, and generally Africa. Notwithstanding the admiration there is for the...
A Health Check for Microfinance BanksNews
A U.N.-backed Africa communications summit in Rwanda next month will seek to boost high-speed Internet access to match the continent’s explosive growth in mobile phones, officials said Wednesday. UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (Reuters Life!) - A U.N.-backed Africa communications summit in Rwanda next month will seek to boost high-speed Internet access to match the continent’s explosive growth in mobile phones, officials said Wednesday. The Oct. 29-30 Connect Africa gathe...
Africa Telecoms Summit to Promote Internet Access
