It has been interesting and worthwhile to me to have the opportunity to sift through NextBillion’s multitude of resources in search of projects to add to the activity database. The projects I have come across never cease to inspire. Some are new twists on old ideas combining traditional methods with modern systems…some are partnerships forged in the name of innovation. Some focus on cultural and artistic traditions and still others address more urgent needs such as disease prevention and nutrition. Acknowledging and sharing each project’s success and significance is just as important as the activities themselves.

Banco do Nordeste's CrediAmigo: Microfinance Banking
In November 1996 at a meeting in Fortaleza, the World Bank and Banco do Nordeste, a development bank formed to support growth in northeastern Brazil, decided to initiate a collaborative process to jointly implement a local development program based on the idea of micro-credit. Motivated by the fact that small informal companies – family owned and small properties - were not being served by the Bank's financing activities due to the restrictive regulation of Brazil's Banking Systems, Banco do Nordeste and the World Bank decided to develop and launch a pilot low-income bank, targeting micro-entrepreneurs from informal sectors.

(This post continues past the break; click "Read More" for descriptions of the Gram Mooligai and the Nutrition Improvement Program)

Azeem Azhar, head of innovation for Reuters, pointed me to a BOP job opening within his company. They're running a very cool new project called Reuters Market Light, which provides information and related services (in local languages) to rural communities through mobile phones. RML is hiring a COO; for more on the position, check out Azeem's blog. I’ve excerpted below.

This is a 'bottom of the pyramid' (really a 'top of the bottom of the pyramid') business delivering agricultural pricing and real-time weather information to farmers. The business is progressing strongly and we're now hiring a COO.

If you are interested, read the job spec below and get in touch with Gouthami directly. It is based in Bangalore with regular travel to the customer base--and frankly an amazing opportunity for anyone wanting to build a genuine BOP business.

Previous BOP job announcements: Acumen Fund, GFUSA, Google, Monitor Group, Next Steps Research.

Via MicroCapital, Intellecap Announces Microfinance Business Plan Competition:

In yet another innovation coming from the burgeoning microfinance sector in India, Intellecap, a microfinance consulting organization, has established an Indian Microfinance Business Plan competition. Called the Srijan Business Plan Competition, this event is being organized along with Aavishkaar Goodwell, a microfinance venture capital fund associated with Intellecap. The conference is sponsored by some of the leading providers of commercial microfinance in India - Yes Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and ICICI. For the organizers of this event, this provides an opportunity to identify business plans with promise to increase "deal flow".

The Srijan Business Plan competition opened on December the 8th and executive summary submissions will continue till January 21st of 2007. Thirty teams will be short listed who will need to submit their business plans by the 18th of March. The final ten finalists will be announced on April 1st and the final presentations shall happen on the 10th of April.

We've written about Aavishkaar in the past as a micro-venture capital fund trying to fill the space between micro and formal finance, i.e., mesofinance.  They are associated with Anil Gupta's excellent Honey Bee Network.  My interaction with Intellecap came through a  profile I wrote of Upendra Bhatt, one of the principals, for GreenBiz this past March.

(This post continues past the break; click "Read More" to continue)