As I mentioned yesterday [0], I’ve been MIA while working on a BOP mapping project that will be publicly unveiled on June 12 at the IADB conference [1]. Side note – have you seen the speaker list? Cardinal Maradiaga, Carlos Slim, Hernando de Soto, Nicholas Negroponte, Portia Simpson Miller, Bill Clinton, Hector Ureta...whomever’s put the agenda [2] together has done a great job. Anyway, while I was crunching numbers, I managed to at least read some of my favorite blogs and web sites, and have kept tabs on some of the better BOP projects and news stories that have come across my desk lately. A snapshot:

Development Marketplace funds 30 water, energy, and sanitation entrepreneurs from BOP communities out of a $5 million prize pool. Via the Innovations in Emerging Markets blog [3].

Alex Steffen continues to blow me away with his analysis and writing style of all things world changing. This entry is on knowledge management for development, or as he puts it, “leapfrogging through local wisdom.” Via WorldChanging [4].

Give mosquito nets away for free, or sell them? Pablo at PSD Blog [5] covers the debate.

All the world’s libraries on your iPod? Alex Steffen chimes in again, via WorldChanging [6].

NextBillion Blogspotted by BusinessWeek in a short blurb called “Poverty Lines [7]” (registration required). Via the Career Acceleration Network [8].

Africa: Open for Business revisited [9], this time with excellent video clips.

From the annals of finance, how about a story on index-based livestock insurance? PSD Blog [10] is again the one to thank for this fine referral.

Time Magazine has a great story [11] on one of my favorite BOP enterprises, KickStart.

That's all for now - I'll be covering some of these more in-depth in the coming days, but check them all out when you have a free moment. Happy reading!