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

Whew!

What a week. Just three days ago we launched NextBillion Financial Innovation, our new blog that we hope will be among your preferred places on the web to discover views, news, events on bringing financial access and tools to the majority of the world without them. We’re incredibly excited about some of the new voices and big brains who are sharing the fruits of their labors with the NB community. So please join us and let me, or NBFI’s editor, James Militzer, know how we’re doing, what topics we should be covering, and who we should reach out to blog on financial innovation.

As enthusiastic as we are about NBFI, we’re not hitting the pause button. In fact, another of NextBillion’s key initatives is about to launch in earnest: the 2014 NextBillion Case Writing Competition. This is now the fourth year of the competition and we hope to make it just as strong as last years, hopefully stronger. But that all depends on you: professors and students. This is your opportunity to shine a bright light on an enterprise, an entrepreneur or a multinational business that’s overcome the odds to deliver value and help fight poverty and/or improve people’s lives at the base of the pyramid.

This year’s competition is again by the Citi Foundation and NextBillion, and administered by GlobaLens, the case publishing division of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. (Full disclosure: NextBillion is an iniative of WDI).

The first deadline, submitting an entry form for the case you would like to write, is looming: October 4.

The 2014 prize money will be the same as this year’s contest, namely:

1st Place: $3,500

2nd Place: $2,500

3rd Place: $1,000

Two Honorable Mentions

All winning/honorable mention cases will be published by GlobaLens and made available for adoption by professors around the country and the world. Speaking of GlobaLens, Faculty and students are invited to attend an informational webinar on all aspects of the 2014 NextBillion Case Writing Competition. Details of the case writing contest will be reviewed, including entry and submission requirements, judging criteria, judges, deadlines, and prizes. Additionally, Sandra Draheim, competition administrator at GlobaLens, will answer questions and share highlights of the previous competition. To register, click here.

Here are several articles related to the competition, including last year’s winners, that might be helpful:

In Case You Missed It … This Week on NextBillion

NexThought Monday – 7 Trends Shaping Africa’s Youth Employment Challenge: What do social entrepreneurs bring to the conversation? By Tsega Belachew — Ashoka