The fact that poverty alleviation and environmentally conscious policies go hand in hand is nothing new, yet much work is needed to support the development of sustainable entrepreneurs at the Base of the Pyramid. WRI’s New Ventures works with these socially responsible entrepreneurs to sharpen their business plans, network with like-minded professionals and attract venture capital from major investors.

NV is pleased to announce that we are launching a new featured content section on NextBillion to showcase some of our outstanding entrepreneurs who have developed innovative strategies for generating sustainable profits. The site will be loaded with in-depth articles, video, and podcast interviews featuring the next generation of CEOs who are redefining the way businesses interact with the world. You can also visit our Entrepreneur of the Week site for more information on each company we highlight. In discussions on climate change and other intractable global issues, many still see developing countries as part of the problem rather than as a potential source of creative solutions. Fortunately, NV enterprises are breaking new ground in everything from green advertising to zero emissions transportation by harnessing the resources of the BOP and giving new meaning to the phrase “walking the talk.”

You may have noticed a new look to Nextbillion this week. Our crack design team has updated the fonts and colors a bit to make our content more readable. We've also added a few new blog topics - water, housing, and marketing - making it easier for you to find the specific information you're interested in. As we approach our "official" one-year anniversary in early May, we've got some more upgrades in store for you, including enhanced search features and improvements to our user profile pages.

As long as we're in the mood to give our developers more work, we thought we'd find out what features YOU would like to see on Nextbillion. Some of our readers have already suggested the addition of a BOP jobs database. Others have said they would find a database of BOP-related business plan competitions useful. What would you find valuable?

Nextbillion has grown steadily over the past year thanks to loyal readers like you. Here’s your chance to help us make it even better. If you’ve got ideas, leave a comment to this post or email us directly at info@nextbillion.net.