NextBillion brings together the community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers, and academics who want to explore the connection between development and enterprise.
Our Staff Writers and Editors offer insights on the latest news, events, interviews and other happenings from the development through enterprise and base of the pyramid universes
September 21, 2009 — 06:00 pm
For those interested in the base of the pyramid (BoP) space, it will be a busy fall as many conferences and events are upcoming. I've just updated the Take Action page here at NextBillion, but in case you are not in the habit of checking it regularly, here's a rundown of the events coming up, along with some commentary.
September 15, 2009 — 05:00 pm
The Lemelson-MIT Awards honor both established and rising inventors for their ingenuity, creativity and contribution to invention and innovation. The awards recognize the profound impact that inventors can have on economic and social well-being.
September 14, 2009 — 06:00 am
Day 1 of SoCap09, and I was already conflicted. Sonal Shah's keynote address had ended and there I stood as 800 folks milled about, trying to decide: which of these awesome panels should I choose - and, by association, which will I have to miss? After quick deliberation, I took off for SME Finance in Developing Countries...and I'm glad I did.
September 9, 2009 — 09:05 am
As if on queue - and on the heels of SoCap09 - Pop!Tech, a leading ideas summit and social innovation network, today announces its 2009 class of Social Innovation Fellows. This will be the second class of Fellows - last year the cohort included innovators ranging from Mobile Metrix to Pharmasecure to Por Fin, Nuestra Casa to Ushahidi to...
August 29, 2009 — 04:00 pm
The 2009 BoP Narrative Competition has been created to help identify cutting-edge experiences of business innovation in underserved or marginalized communities. Winning submissions must clearly articulate a business challenge that an organization working in low-income communities is striving to overcome...
August 12, 2009 — 01:59 pm
The NextBillion.net team is proud to announce the addition of our newest member: Staff Writer Phil LaRocco. Phil is the founder of E+Co, the leading practitioner of the enterprise-centered model of investing in energy businesses in developing countries. Until his retirement in April 2009, LaRocco also served as E+Co's Executive Director and CEO.
August 11, 2009 — 05:00 pm
In contrast with images that show only the most devastating aspects of life in low-income countries, Legatum's contest looks for photos that capture stories of entrepreneurial activity and demonstrate innovation and empowerment. The contest helps Legatum present a new vision for development – one that is more dignified, one that is more...
August 5, 2009 — 03:10 pm
SOCAP09 is less than 4 weeks away. Will you be there? Francisco will. I will. Brian Trelstad will. So will Alvaro Rodriguez...and many more. Do you need reasons to come? How about these three reasons why you need to be there? Need more? Well, how about these 358 MORE reasons!?
July 23, 2009 — 10:02 am
Yes, another social enterprise conference is around the corner, and you're thinking, "Do I really need to be there?" I hear you. Well, SOCAP09 is coming up and I AM going, so in the interest of transparency, here are the 3 reasons why you need to be there, too.
July 1, 2009 — 04:02 pm
Husk Power Systems, a company we profiled here on NextBillion back in October, was announced today as the winner of the Global Business Plan competition sponsored by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems. As the winning entrant, Husk Power walks away with $250,000 in seed funding, which they will use to build and operate more power plants...
