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A recent report, "Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use," by the United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation highlights emerging trends by NGOs in the use of mobile technology to affect social change in global public health, humanitarian assistance and environmental conservation. While this report offers some great insights on how to use technology and telecom tools to address some of the world's toughest problems, it leaves out one of the most important challenges that NGOs, and most ICT for Development projects face; how toensure sustainability.

To shed some light on this tension, I spoke with Ken Banks, the founder of FrontlineSMS (a tool for mass text messaging) about sustainability and the choices he is currently grappling with. FrontlineSMS was initially funded by Ken's hard work, and more recently by the MacArthur Foundation, to fulfill his belief that "all non-profits, whatever their size and wherever they operate, should be given the opportunity to implement the latest mobile technologies in their work." Today, FrontlineSMS is free for non-profits and is being used by over 40 NGOs in programs around the world.

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Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jordan Kassalow, Graham Macmillan and Miriam Stone – three staff members at VisionSpring – to conduct a long-form interview. Formerly known as Scojo Foundation, VisionSpring is the pioneering base of the pyramid-focused enterprise working to provide access to eyeglasses in low-income communities around the world.

NextBillion.net readers will be familiar with VisionSpring's basic story; after all, our team published a What Works case study on the company back in 2007. We've followed their progress for a long time, up to and including their recent name change and announcement of a 5-year fundraising prospectus.

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Things are generally slower in August, as many folks take vacation and less gets done by those who are at the office. (For a refreshing and innovative take on this phenomenon, you might consider Seth Godin's advice to work like your hair is on fire while the competition sleeps.)

For the rest of us, this means there's less content than normal floating around the base of the pyramid blogosphere. Despite this, here's a quick roundup of worthy reports and posts:

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This post is the second in a two part series on how to get involved in the base of the pyramid movement. Part 1 was a personal story of involvement, and Part 2 focuses on the role of students in bringing social transformation.

I recently attended the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) colloquium at Harvard Business School and had a conversation with a professor about the role of students in BoP ventures. He left me with this parting insight: "Don't forget - students change the world. Many social movements throughout history have been started and led by students."

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While attending the SEKN research colloquium a few days ago, I was able to sit down and talk to Harvard Business School Professor Michael Chu. During his tenure at ACCION International, Mr. Chu played a major role in the development of Mexico's Banco Compartamos. He currently co-leads the Ignia Fund, a for-profit BoP private equity fund focused on the Latin American region.

Following is a four-question summary of the notes I took during our hour-long conversation about Ignia and its prospects of transforming the BoP/SME investment landscape in this region of the world.

Francisco Noguera: What is the background of the team behind the idea of Ignia?

Michael Chu: My partner Alvaro Rodriguez holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and his first job out of School was with ACCION International. He then moved on to be CFO of Grupo Vitro (one of the world's largest glass manufacturers), CEO of Farmacia Benavides (Mexico's largest pharmacy chain) and then CFO of Grupo Elektra. He also held a seat at the board of ACCION. For my own part, I worked for the Boston Consulting Group after earning my MBA from Harvard, and then did leveraged buyouts in the private equity industry with KKR before joining ACCION, by the time Bancosol was launched. I also served as President and CEO of ACCION and also started an investment fund in Argentina called Pegasus capital.

What countries and sectors will Ignia invest in?

Ignia will be opportunity driven. Our main office is located in Mexico but we expect to invest in other countries of the region as well, in companies working in education, helthcare, housing, nutrition and basic services for the poor. We will develop our pipeline through local networks that my partner Alvaro Rodriguez and I built over the years we worked in microfinance with ACCION.

FN: How would you describe the opportunity that led you to conceive and start Ignia?

MC: Here are two ideas that frame what lies behind the idea of Ignia: First, the experience of Compartamos was the closing of a full circle --it was founded as an NGO, then turned into a commercial financial institution and ultimately tapped into capital markets. It proved that market-based solutions to poverty could be viable, profitable and that markets would value this kind of venture.

Besides that, we see tremendous opportunity in improving the value proposition for the poor in many sectors. They are already paying high fees for products and services that are often of bad quality. We believe that the microfinance and the Compartamos experience can be brought to other sectors. That's why we created Ignia.

FN: Compartamos has been the protagonist of a debate around the profit motive when serving the poor. Will Ignia follow the same for-profit approach?

MC: Yes. We believe that high profits are integral to social impact. They will help mobilize scalable market-based solutions to address poverty. We believe that any effort seeking to eradicate poverty must comply with four criteria:

1. It must achieve huge scale; be able to serve millions;
2. It must consider inter-generational responses. Many poverty-related outcomes will not be visible until the next generation;
3. It must be continuously efficient - i.e. become cheaper and cheaper over time;
4. And it must be continuously effective - i.e. become better and better over time
   

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I was recently pointed to GreenMango - an interesting project and winner of the Echoing Green Fellowship. GreenMango is based out of Hyderabad and profiles small time, base-of-the-pyramid owned businesses such as plumbers, carpenters, tailors, mechanics and electricians. The data and service is also currently restricted to Hyderabad. The platform is currently in Beta version - with a simple interface to search for local businesses, using filters for business type, business name, or the area/pin codes.

Unlike Babajob, which depends on a more complicated variant of social networking, GreenMango offers a simple design and user reviews - that help one connect directly with the business. I was not able to write a review for my electrician, but I suspect that similar to popular auction sites, few people may try to game the system. While initiatives such as GreenMango as laudable in concept, even the more socially conscious friends I speak to seemed to prefer to use offline referrals to identify such help.

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If you're in the market for a job in the base-of-the-pyramid space, you might want to check out the five current job openings listed on Acumen Fund's web site.

There are two openings in India, one for a Business Development Manager and the other for a Portfolio Associate.  Both are accepting applications and hope to close the application period early next week (August 20).  View both job descriptions in PDF format, and consider applying.

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This post is the second in a two part series exploring China’s role in Africa’s development. Part 1 focused on the breakdown and impact of African exports to China, and Part 2 focuses on the role of China’s investment and imports into Africa.

Investment

It is no surprise that most Africans are welcoming Chinese investment and products. The history of traditional Western aid and investment in Africa is one of a nagging "I correct you because I want what's best for you" parental-like stronghold over the continent. Tired of "the politically motivated, finger-wagging approach of western governments," Africans have welcomed China’s emphasis on pure business. Numerous sources quote the lack of political motivation, as well as societal or environmental demands, as one of the primary reasons that Africa is welcoming the Chinese investment.

Sahr Johnny, the Sierra Leonean ambassador in Beijing, was quoted as saying the following regarding China's projects in Africa:

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The Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) brings together a number of Latin America academic institutions interested in exploring the concept of social enterprise and market-based solutions to poverty. Last week the network convened for a research colloquium in Harvard Business School to share the major findings of their upcoming publication titled Inclusive Business in Iberoamerica: Challenges and Opportunities.

It was an interesting venue in which I had the opportunity to learn about thriving BoP business models in Latin America like Cruzsalud in Venezuela, which is bringing high-quality healthcare services to the poor of Caracas. It was also exciting to meet and talk to very interesting people like Nancy Barry and Michael Chu, surely two of the most influential characters of the microfinance revolution. Interestingly, both have moved on from microfinance to engage in the broader BoP/ Social Enterprise space. Stay tuned for upcoming posts in which I'll summarize my conversations with both of them and their current ventures.

I would like to use the rest of this post to present two simple ideas that I believe could be of use to SEKN, as it enters its new research cycle. In particular, I see great opportunities for the network to more effectively deliver its messages and findings while also turning their academic research into action, by further engaging with students and practitioners in the countries where the network is present.        

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If you have between 2 and 5 years of professional experience, a strong interest in social enterprise/ venture philanthropy and a desire to spend 10 months working for organizations in Latin America, Africa or Asia, please read on.

The LGT Group is the asset management group of the Princely House of Liechtenstein. Each year, the Group's philanthropy arm conducts a call for applications to its fellowship program, through which it engages professionals and social enterprises in developing countries, seeking to go beyond financial support and offer their portfolio organizations access to increased intellectual and social capital. This year's program features organizations working in an interesting array of disciplines in Brazil, Colombia, South Africa and Tanzania.

The deadline for applications is September 14, 2008. Click here to learn more about the programs and the specific requirements for applicants.