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
January 21, 2010 — 09:00 am
I was reminded of the "theory of resonance" while talking to Rahama Wright, social entrepreneur and founder of Shea Yeleen International, a nonprofit working to help African women secure sustainable livelihoods via shea butter production.
January 15, 2010 — 10:03 am
The Gates Foundation is at it again. On Wednesday, it announced $38 million dollars in funding to support programming that will give the poor safe, effective ways to house their savings. Six grants will go to 18 MFIs that offer microcredit but will "make savings accounts available to an initial 11 million poor people over five years."
October 13, 2009 — 11:22 am
Melissa's journey began with two simple questions. First, what would happen if several social enterprises were located in the same community? Secondly, how can they be brought to scale? As you'll soon discover, Ayllu is tackling this problem head on. With no further ado, Ayllu!
September 26, 2009 — 04:22 pm
As many of you know, today is the 2009 Africa Social Enterprise Forum in New York City, organized by Co-Chairs JerryAnne Heath and Magogodi Makhene. ASEC boldly confronts the notion that all the best thinking (and doing) in social enterprise comes from the West, and I applaud the organizers for making this distinction.
September 18, 2009 — 08:00 am
BoP business development by definition should engage the community in the process from the outset. However, extractives projects can be scoped, planned, funded and largely executed before the community is involved in any meaningful way. That begs the question of whether BoP business development and the extractives industry are compatible.
August 18, 2009 — 07:30 am
When the subject of successful, scalable BoP models comes up, two will inevitably be cited: mobile telecommunications and microfinance (ala Grameen). While the reach of cell phones at the BoP is indeed widespread and impressive, one still has to consider what the barriers to access are for this technology and its ancillary, the internet.
August 3, 2009 — 03:55 pm
Three years ago I took part in my first Nollywood marathon. It was a bit of a reunion actually; one of my friends was in town from Nigeria while I was visiting another friend in DC. One of the movies, called Dangerous Twins, struck a chord. The story is about two businessmen; one lives in the UK and the other in Nigeria.
July 13, 2009 — 09:35 am
Business Action for Africa's report From Crisis to Opportunity is hardly ground-breaking in its arguments. It presents, through the voices of influential leaders in business, development, and academia, a series of strategic imperatives that will mitigate the damage caused by the financial crisis and steady African progress toward the MDGs.
June 30, 2009 — 11:45 am
Occasionally one encounters a novel application of a familiar technology. In this case, it's blogging. David Roodman, fellow at the Center for Global Development and architect of the Commitment to Development Index , is currently writing an open-book blog about microfinance. He writes a chapter then posts it for comment and critique.
June 22, 2009 — 09:49 am
Most of you are probably familiar with the story of Dr. Mo Ibrahim, the British-Sudanese entrepreneur who built Celtel (now Zain) into one of the most successful telcos on the African continent (and beyond). Then you can imagine my surprise when the following email landed in my inbox:
