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"What poor countries need most is not more microbusinesses. They need more small-to-medium-sized enterprises, the kind that are bigger than a fruit stand but smaller than a Fortune 1000 corporation.” These were the words of James Surowiecki last month in his New Yorker piece What...
SMEs Are What’s NextBlog Post
Today in New York, I had the pleasure of attending a round table organized by the Council on Foreign Relations entitled The Commercialization of Microfinance: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Moderated by CFR Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman, the discussion featured comments from Mary Ellen...
The Commercialization of Microfinance: The Good, The Bad and The UglyBlog Post
In my last post, I put forth a definition on scaling a BoP venture: increasing business transactions that positively affect the lives of the poor. In this post I’d like to address the importance of scaling a BoP venture. Apoovra Shah recently brought up the issue of BoP ventures...
Taking a BoP Venture to Scale, Part 2News
By Jen Haley Lovisa Asinde is a Ugandan widow who supports herself and her five children selling food. She started the small business eight years ago, and planned to open a larger restaurant in the center of her town. But when one of her children fell ill she was unable to work, and she lacked the $500 needed to buy saucepans, plates and food staples. So, strange as it may seem, Asinde went looking for international investors. She found s...
Your $25 can Start a Business, Change a LifeNews
By Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent Slum-dwellers in Dar es Salaam pay the equivalent of ?4 ($8, ?5) for 1,000 litres of water, bought over time and by the canister. In the same Tanzanian city, wealthier households connected to the municipal supply receive that amount for just 17p. In the UK, the same volume of tap water costs 81p and in the US it is as low as 34p. Figures from other countries confirm the evidence: it is generally the poorest who pa...
A Costly ThirstBlog Post
Acumen Fund’s India Office is currently seeking highly qualified applicants for the positions of Portfolio Associate and Legal Associate. Location: Hyderabad, India Organization: Acumen Fund is a global non-profit venture capital fund serving the four billion people living on less...
Jobs: Acumen Fund India, Legal and Portfolio AssociatesNews
Businesses and social enterprises are increasingly realising the mutual benefits and new opportunities from working together, IBLF has concluded after co-hosting workshops at last week’s World Skoll Forum. IBLF, UK consultancy SustainAbility and design company IDEO hosted two workshops on Strategic Partnerships Between Multinational Corporations and Social Entrepreneurs ...
Partnership Workshops Confirm New Opportunities for Social Entrepreneurs & BusinessNews
Western Union Co., hoping to boost its share of the money-transfer market, is teaming up with ...
Wiring Money Turns Wireless in New Plan
