Position: Associate, New Ventures Program, World Resources Institute

Location: Washington, D.C.

Organization: WRI's New Ventures program is a business accelerator that works toward long-term, sustainable natural resource use by supporting environmentally- and socially-responsible enterprises in emerging economies. We identify profitable small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) that generate unique social and environmental benefits and provide them with business advisory services and access to capital. New Ventures identifies transformative business models in critical sectors such as clean energy and water, and we work with partners to scale these business models in emerging market economies. Additionally, we work with local and international investment communities and networks to help further develop capital resources available to these enterprises. In collaboration with local partners, New Ventures operates centers of sustainable entrepreneurship in Brazil, Mexico, China , Indonesia and India.

Description: The Associate will be responsible for research and related activities that influence capital providers to invest in sustainable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies. The Associate will have a lead research role in New Ventures' Accelerating Clean Energy Markets project, which seeks to increase investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency SMEs in emerging economies such as India.

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Philip Auerswald, a co-editor of the Innovations: Technology|Governance|Globalization journal, wrote me a short e-mail today noting their special World Economic Forum edition:

We also just put together a special edition (sponsored by Schwab Foundation) for the WEF annual meeting in Davos. The 550 copies apparently went fast.

Undoubtedly.  Longtime NextBillion readers will know our affinity for the relatively young journal, which we reviewed here first, and again here, here, and here.

The special edition is a collection of Innovations' best and most Davos-appropriate articles (a lead article by Pamela Hartigan and Klaus Schwab, for example.)  Be sure to explore this free resource while it is up on the web site; beyond that, I'd encourage readers to browse through back issues of the journal and explore articles by a range of leading BoP and social enterprise thinkers.

Thanks Phil.

Safe tap water is a luxury that many people in the world do not enjoy. In many developing countries, it is not safe to drink or use the tap water. The Center for Disease Control website of the United States government has health information about every country in the world, and it’s interesting to see how many countries fall under the advice: "Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles."

Bottled water is expensive, of course, and people living at the BoP often cannot afford it. World Resources Institute’s research in The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid showed that low-income customers pay anywhere from eight to sixteen times more for bottled or trucked water than they would for a local, public utility (page 58). If this isn’t a BoP penalty, then I don’t know what is.

Access to clean drinking water is a concern world-wide – but it is not the sole responsibility of government to provide it. The Next 4 Billion report concluded that there is a clear willingness to pay for clean water in the BoP. However, even if there is a willingness to pay, access to such services is not widespread, especially in rural areas. What the world needs are effective and innovative ideas on how to get these services to the people in the BoP, and to deliver them. Ashoka’s Changemakers has partnered with The Global Water Challenge to launch a collaborative competition to discuss and discover new solutions:

"Global Water Challenge is dedicated to finding solutions to the water and sanitation crises. We believe that we have both the resources and the will to live in a world in which everyone can drink clean water, and use a safe toilet. It is our goal to find and encourage ideas and individuals, wherever they may be, so that every school, every clinic, every home, every community, without regard to geography and income, has access to these basic needs."

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