September 19, 2007 — 06:24 pm
Wrap-up from the IFC-CGAP-Visa conference: Next Generation - Access to Finance
2904 Views
September 19, 2007 — 02:23 pm
The Oxford University 21st Century Challenge Competition is a new international entrepreneurship competition, jointly organized by the Oxford Science Enterprise Centre (OxSEC) and the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilisation (JMI) at the Said Business School, Oxford.
This new competition is open to entrepreneurs world wide, and is looking to encourage innovative new business ideas - from new products and services to innovative operational processes and business models that can help to solve some of the major social, environmental and health challenges of the 21st century.
This year the competition has a total prize fund of £65,000, with £35,000 for the overall winner and three runners-up prizes of £10,000.
Entries can be from individuals, teams, new companies, existing companies creating spin-offs, students, scientists, academics and entrepreneurs. Entries must:
- Be innovative
- Be a for-profit venture
- Address a pressing 21st Century Challenge, within one of the tracks above
- Not have received more than £250K in funding to date
- Demonstrate a positive social and/or environmental impact as well as a financial return
Entries are welcome any time up to the deadline for submissions, 5pm (GMT) on Friday 12th October 2007. The finalists will be announced in early November, with the Final itself tasking place at Said Business School, Oxford, on Thursday 29th November 2007.
For more information read here
1826 Views
September 19, 2007 — 11:18 am
Georgetown University's Mortara Center for International Studies is hosting a book discussion next week on "The Bottom Billion- Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It."
The author of the book, Paul Collier will be at the discussion. Paul Collier is Professor of Economics at Oxford University and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economics. He works on a wide range of macroeconomic, microeconomic and political economy topics concerned with Africa. Currently he is doing research on the causes and consequences of civil war, the effects of aid, and the problems of democracy in low-income and natural-resource-rich societies. He was the senior advisor to Tony Blair's Commission on Africa, and was a former Director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank.
5987 Views
September 18, 2007 — 02:35 pm
"In China, people try not to think about the countryside at all. When they do, it is not of a rural idyll, but a grim, dirty place where people are poor and life is harsh. In Britain the countryside is somewhere to escape to. In China it is somewhere to escape from." I read these lines sometime ago on "China's rural millions left behind," a BBC news story. The author compares how in British people tend to see the countryside as an idyllic place where people aspire to move/ retire/ relax. This is definitely not the case in China, because of poor living conditions, the absence of good education, local political corruption, few doctors and a general lack of economic opportunities.
There are approximately seven hundred and fifty million Chinese who live in rural areas, and very few have access to finance. In an effort to serve an unmet need, the Chinese government began to give small loans through the Agricultural Bank of China beginning in 1999. The program’s focus is poverty alleviation through government action rather than a for-profit business activity. The journal Knowledge @ Wharton covers the program in a recent article, "Can Rural Finance Take Root in China? About 750 Million People Hope So." I enjoyed the author’s analysis of difficulties that microfinance institutions are encountering.
2540 Views
September 18, 2007 — 10:24 am
Job Locations: New York, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Pakistan
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September 18, 2007 — 07:40 am
On NextBillion.net, we have discussed business models, strategies, and funding for successful enterprises aimed at the world’s poorest citizens. Another critical issue is getting the right talent.
Sure, you are catering to the Next Billion people. Sure, you have unprecedented hype - and investment. But what about the people to lead and drive the next phase of development through enterprise?
A friend at a leading social investment consulting firm spoke to me about their interns from Ivy League universities in the US. Many, he said, took far too long to get acclimatized to India. As he put it, "before they settled down, it was time to go back".
While it is indeed commendable that these students have travelled far for an internship, it raises serious questions about whether this is talent that will endure, and be equipped to make the biggest impact on the "next billion."
Consider India, at the heart of green and social enterprise. Unlike in the US, the vast majority of talented students elect to major in Engineering or Medicine. The engineering graduates are then hounded for opportunities in the software industry, and code their way to narrowing a global arbitrage. Few consider a career in Development Through Enterprise. For some, it's about the remuneration. But for most engineers, they choose software due to a lack of understanding and exposure to alternate opportunities. (Of course, a number of IT professionals help effect social change).
If enterprises investing in developing economies are to be sustained, they should attract the best talent. And much of this can come from providing students access to a challenging work environment.
It may seem all too obvious. But the gap has not been driven out. On one hand, some of the brightest talent is seeking internship opportunities. On the other, social enterprises need the perspective and energy of young employees.
I propose: Engineers for Social Impact: an opportunity for current sophomores to spend a summer at a social enterprise, gain understanding and contribute. Connecting, to begin with, say the 10 best candidates from 10 reputed universities to the 10 most credible for-profit social enterprises.
While initiatives such as Engineers Without Borders and Engineers for a Sustainable World have helped draw interest towards the role of engineers in development, the proposed initiative focuses exclusively on building a pool of highly talented, sustainable, local talent - in my case, here in India.
The difference in objectives is not driven by parochial ideas, but by a need for leaders who understand the issues in their communities, and can make positive social impact.
Many view social internships and community service as nothing beyond a ticket to graduate school. Some may continue to think so. But through an experience with Engineers for Social Impact, I hope, more individuals will experience the power to effect change.
I am very passionate about this idea – and am keen to set this up, and look forward to comments and partners from the NextBillion community.
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It is almost fitting that yesterday, Legatum, a private firm that invests in the global financial markets and in initiatives that support sustainable development, announced a structured gift of $50 million to create a new center at MIT.
The establishment of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship will support aspiring entrepreneurs from the developing world who have a strong commitment to development entrepreneurship, helping them to acquire the knowledge and skills required for successful business development and civic leadership around the world.
3907 Views
September 17, 2007 — 01:30 pm
I wanted to re-post this announcement since the deadline has been extended to September 28, 2007
Catalytic Communities has launched a competition in which participants will help identify creative, community-based solutions to challenges in Education & Skill-building, and Business & Economy. The deadline to post your project is September 14, 2007.
The projects sent to the Community Solutions Database will join the "growing global network of grassroots projects, many of them small-scale, but which together have the potential to transform the world. Through the CatComm Network, all projects get translated to three languages initially. They are then communicated to our 6000+ member network, including community leaders, journalists, volunteers, and potential funders."
1440 Views
September 17, 2007 — 11:18 am
Private Sector Partnerships for Better Health (PSP-One) along with USAID are seeking for submission of abstracts for the upcoming 2008 On-line Social Marketing Conference. The deadline is September 30!
There are nine different topics to choose from. "The topics can be addressed through examples and field programs chosen from a broad range of health interventions, including but not limited to family planning, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, child health, TB, malaria, and avian influenza. We encourage programs, international and local organizations and practitioners located in a wide variety of countries to submit presentations. Both French and English can be used for the abstract and presentation."
Via PSD blog
2042 Views
September 13, 2007 — 08:53 pm
Ashoka’s Full Economic Citizenship initiative (FEC) aims to create pioneering large-scale solutions for low-income populations by harnessing the joint power of businesses and citizen sector organizations.
Ashoka seeks a team of entrepreneurial individuals to launch a country-wide “Housing for All” initiative in Egypt. This Egypt-based team, composed of a Program Leader, Program Manager, and Program Associate, will be part of a global team of business social innovators committed to advance profitable solutions to serve low income population.
(Fluency in Arabic required – familiarity with the Egyptian context a plus)
2133 Views
September 13, 2007 — 09:50 am
The latest issue of one of my favorite journals - Stanford Social Innovation Review - is out; they only have 4 issues a year, so I get really excited when the new issue comes out. There are a couple of interesting articles in the Fall 2007 issue addressing both the non-profit and the for-profit worlds that I would like to comment about:
Jessica Flannery, Kiva’s co-founder wrote the article "Micro-franchise Against Malaria" on HealthStore’s micro-franchising model. This model has proven to be very effective; according to Flannery it "…has allowed it to deliver good healthcare while aggressively expanding. Founded in 1997, the foundation has opened 65 CFWshops. In 2004, the HealthStore network treated 177,256 patients. By 2005 that number had nearly tripled to 435,527. As a result, CFWshops’ distinctive black and red signage has become a beacon to the sick and poor throughout Kenya." Of course, WRI managed the first case study on HealthStore’s model back in 2005 – check it out in the Case Studies section.
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