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Monday, February 06, 2012

NexThought Monday: Land Rights for Women - a Ripple Effect

By Deborah Espinosa

Many developing countries, from Liberia to India, are rife with women without land rights, who upon the death of their husbands are thrown off of their land and left with no way to support themselves or their children. National economies continue to suffer from the effects of these children, who are robbed of an education and a future. From 2002 through 2009, Landesa partnered with the Rwandan government to help ensure Rwandans would have secure rights to land and receive land titles.

Saturday, February 04, 2012

From the Sun (Bypassing the Grid) to the BoP Consumer

By Adeena Schlussel

Taking its name from the amount of time it takes sunlight to reach earth (yes, 8 minutes and 19 seconds), Eight19 is one of the many companies working to deliver solar energy to the 1.6 billion people of the BoP in need.

Friday, February 03, 2012

How 'Toil-o-preneurs' Are Scaling Sanitation Solutions

By Usha Ganesh

Nearly 50 percent of India's urban poor do not have access to clean toilets. With increasing migration to cities like Mumbai and Delhi, the pressure on public sanitation facilities has been immense. Shramik Sanitation Systems (3S), one of the early social enterprises that looked at sanitation in a holistic manner, provides community toilets in urban environments of India.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Impact Investing: Combining Finance and Philanthropy to Transform Latin America

By Cerilenne Menendez Mendoza

The second edition of the Latin American Impact Investment Forum will take place this Feb. 13-15 in Mérida, Mexico. Entrepreneurs, angel investors, private equity groups, venture capital funds, banks, business accelerators, foundations, academia, and government representatives from across Latin America will be in attendance.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Unlocking Pakistan's Enterprise Potential

By Kalsoom Lakhani

The criticisms of Pakistan's volatility are not without merit; the roses are more the thorny than plain variety. But I launched my company, Invest2Innovate (i2i) in fall 2011 because because I believe strongly in the potential of untapped markets like Pakistan, 66 percent of the population lives at the bottom of the pyramid, under $2 a day.