NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - Eradicating Poverty through Profit

Before Taking Off, A Sneak at Next Week's NextBillion.net Content

Francisco Noguera — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:09:20 -0500

Although I will miss my first 4th of July weekend living in the United States, I’m thrilled to be able to join my country’s own national celebration this weekend. I’m sitting right now at a gate at Dulles waiting for my flight to Bogota to start boarding, and I cannot wait to get over there and talk to my taxi driver to feel the optimism that must be ramping up all over the country because of yesterday’s extraordinary news. I wanted to share this feeling with you before leaving and invite you to follow the coverage through your network of preference -- CNN, BBC, Economist, Globovision or El Tiempo, just to name a few. Today a country is feeling that extraordinary things are achievable, which is something always worth sharing and celebrating.

So farewell until next Monday, when I’ll be back in Washington and rejoin the NextBillion conversation. Next week will be an exciting one for us at WRI and here at NextBillion. Our New Ventures Country Directors (from Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and our new partner in Colombia) will be in Washington for a week-long meeting to shape the program’s future and share experiences about the landscape for investment in sustainable SMEs in their countries.

Those of you in the east coast are welcome to join us next Wednesday in an open panel with our directors, so make sure to check for all the details here first thing Monday. In addition, NextBillion Staff Writers will feature a series commenting on Just Another Emperor?, Michael Edwards’ thought provoking book, and we will tackle the Compartamos debate featured in the latest Economist as well as the bank’s letter to its peers concerning its commercial strategy.

Well, last call for my flight, so off I go. Have a great weekend!

Growing Inclusive Markets and Creative Capitalism

Rob Katz — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:34:39 -0500

Two quick notes: First, the Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative at the UN Development Program formally launched their report called Creating Value for All. In it, you'll find some policy prescriptions, case studies, a strategy matrix and - perhaps most interesting - heat maps. Hat tip to PSD Blog's Ryan Hahn for finding and posting one of these heat maps (in this case, of cell phone penetration in South Africa.)

Of course, the data on this particular heat map are from 2000, which means they are likely from surveys conducted in 1998 or 1999. When looking at cell phone penetration - which has grown at breakneck rates over the past 10 years in developing countries like South Africa - the heat map is basically useless because it's so out of date. Not so with other basic infrastructure - running water, electricity, transportation, etc. - but don't expect these heat maps to solve all your market research needs.

Second, also via PSD Blog (this time, in an e-mail from PSD emeritus Pablo Halkyard) a blog called Creative Capitalism. Here you will find a number of notable economists debating Bill Gates' call for more socially responsible business practices. Reading it, you can't help but wonder where Milton Friedman would side in the debate. Actually, we probably already know, but still...

Anyway, big thanks to PSD Blog and to Sahba at UNDP for sending this solid content over.

Roundup: Expo Zaragoza '08 and Other Reasons to Join the Water Conversation

Francisco Noguera — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:12:44 -0500

If there was ever a good summer to be in Spain, 2008 was it. Not only because of the great celebrations that surely followed Torres' match-winning goal last Sunday, but also because of the remarkable Expo Zaragoza 08.

Titled "Water and Sustainable Development", the Expo will be a three-month long venue --already underway through mid-September-- full of movies, shows, live performances, talks, and discussions among experts from all over the globe to celebrate water and raise awareness about its role in our planet.

The venue is timely in its purpose of "radically changing the way human beings think about and relate to this resource". Hence the following roundup of upcoming events at the Expo and recent discussions that tend to affect the way we relate to and talk about water, regardless of where in the economic pyramid we happen to live.

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NextBillion.net - A Request for Proposal

Rob Katz — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:30:47 -0500

NextBillion.net and its sponsors - World Resources Institute and Acumen Fund - have released a request for proposal to overhaul the site.

Since its founding in 2005, NextBillion.net has grown to become one of the more prominent websites and blogs discussing base of the pyramid (BoP) approaches to poverty and environmental degradation. As part of NextBillion.net's recently-signed partnership between WRI and Acumen Fund, we are funding a round of upgrades to the site that are aimed at improving user experience and making the information on-site easier to find, use and share.

As we noted on May 15, WRI and Acumen Fund have committed resources to re-design and re-launch NextBillion.net later this year. We hope this re-design will make the site more user-friendly, enabling smoother subscription, sharing, commenting, story suggestion and a range of other features. That time has come.

If you are a web developer, or know one, please forward this RFP along. We are particularly interested in working with socially-minded firms and/or firms based in low-income countries.

Questions? Check out the RFP or contact Francisco or me directly.

Job: Business Development Analyst, Acumen Fund

Rob Katz — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:30:00 -0500

Position: Business Development Associate/Analyst

Location: New York City

Organization: Acumen Fund is a global non-profit venture capital fund serving the four billion people living on less than $4 a day. Its objective is to create a blueprint for building financially sustainable and scalable organizations that deliver affordable, critical goods and services that elevate the lives of the poor. Acumen Fund invests debt and equity in enterprises delivering critical goods and services to the poor in South Asia and East Africa.

Description: Acumen Fund's Business Development team is responsible for all Partner (donor) relationships (individual, foundation, corporate) at Acumen Fund, as well as relationships with Advisors, Board Members and our broader community. Increasingly, the role of the Business Development team is to build and empower this network of Acumen Fund supporters to broaden the impact of our work.

The Business Development Analyst is an evolving role that will focus most specifically on database management and database administration for the Business Development team.

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How to Stimulate Innovation in India?

Manuel Bueno — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:47:01 -0500

This is exactly the same question that was asked by the World Bank last year and I have recently had the chance to read their subsequent report “Unleashing India’s Innovation”.

All in all it was an interesting reading with a complete analysis of the main innovation levers in the country, although sometimes I felt it was much too vague in its recommendations.

India is becoming a global innovator for high-tech products and services. However, it is well-known that the country is underperforming relative to its real innovation potential. This is quite puzzling taking into account the fact that India's stock of scientists and engineers engaged in Research & Development (R&D) is among the largest in the world.

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Roundup: Growing Inclusive Markets, iBOP Asia and More

Rob Katz — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:05:09 -0500

A quick roundup of base of the pyramid news and notes, including a few new publications that have made it on my to-read list:

The UN Development Program launched a new website highlighting its Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative, which Staff Writer Grace Augustine covered here. (Full disclosure: I sit on the Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative’s advisory board, though I take no responsibility for the site's painfully long Flash intro nor the nonsense background music. Memo to UNDP web developers – simpler is better.)

Once in, you'll find that the site features case studies, some of which will be familiar to long-time BoP watchers (Pesinet returns!); others are completely new to the sector. There are 46 cases to go through, which should keep even the most hardcore case reader occupied for a while. Be sure to bookmark the site as well, since the GIM will be releasing heat maps (basically, country-specific market research on BoP consumer patterns) and a strategy matrix.

Another new web site to check out and bookmark is iBOP-Asia. Run out of the Ateneo School of Government, the site will document a three-year study on Philippine entrepreneurs'efforts to serve the less-than-$2-a-day population. NextBillion.net Staff Writer (and soon to be Ashoka employee) Al Hammond attended the project’s launch earlier this month. Interesting note: the iBOP-Asia research is being stewarded by Tony La Vina, an Ashoka Fellow, Dean of the Ateneo School and a former colleague of mine at the World Resources Institute. Small world…

Doing Business Series Gets Slammed by World Bank Watchdog

Rob Katz — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:00:37 -0500

"So, what do you think about the IEG report?" I was g-chatting with my friend Smita the other night when she brought up the World Bank. "What IEG report? What's the IEG?" I replied, showing my ignorance of the latest Bank goings on (and of the acronym – it stands for Independent Evaluation Group). Smita sighed. "I'm surprised you haven't heard. I'll forward you an e-mail from this listserve I'm on. Take a look."

That's how I found out about Doing Business: An Independent Evaluation. Released on June 12, the report criticizes Doing Business' (DB) reliability and robustness, suggesting that top-ranked countries may achieve high scores due to the absence of regulation, not necessarily the presence of smart, socially-beneficial regulation. Furthermore, the report found "no statistically significant relationship" between the DB indicators and any kind of economic outcome such as investment, gross domestic product growth or employment.

For those interested in business' role in fostering sustainable development, the IEG report ought to prompt some serious reflection. I know it's been on my mind since I read it. After all, I've been promoting the Doing Business reports for years here on NextBillion.net and to scores of colleagues, companies, development agencies and NGOs interested in base of the pyramid strategy. Perhaps it was naïve of me to assume that – as a World Bank / International Finance Corporation report – the DB indicators are robust and well-vetted. The IEG says they’re not – which calls into question a lot of my advice.

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Job: Interns/ Volunteers for the Question Box Project

Francisco Noguera — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:56:19 -0500

Rose Shuman, founder of Open Mind and the innovative Question Box project, shared with us the following work opportunity. Please read on if you are interested in working with the venture that is making the 'Digital Alladin's Lamp' a reality.

Position: Interns/ Volunteers

Location: Anywhere with connectivity

Description: Want to really make a difference in the life of an organization? Smart, enthusiastic interns & volunteers needed for Question Box Project!

Open Mind, a start-up nonprofit, is building capacity and momentum with our Question Box project. We are at a critical moment, and need interns and volunteers to help us scale and develop.

Question Box brings the power of the Internet to people in the developing world using voice and a mobile phone. The idea is a very simple - Question Box is a phone or intercom box people can use to call a local-language Operator. The Operator answers most any question searchable on the Internet for the caller.

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Morning Roundup: Water Privatization and Dignified P2P Lending

Rob Katz — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:05:45 -0500

There have been some interesting base of the pyramid-related topics afoot in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere lately, including a call for water privatization in developing countries and a self-critical blog post authored by the founder of a media-darling BoP startup. Without further ado, what follows is a quick roundup of the latest rumblings and grumblings in the base of the pyramid world:

Water privatization is not a new concept, nor an uncontroversial one. The latest to take up the banner is George Mason economics professor and Marginal Revolution author Tyler Cowen. I admire Cowen and read his blog regularly – he's particularly good at making esoteric economics arguments come alive in readable language. He authored an opinion piece in Forbes back on June 19 entitled Pay For It, in which he argues that government-run water monopolies in developing countries should be completely deregulated.

Of course, Cowen is not blind to the perils of deregulation:

But for all the problems deregulation can bring, the status quo seems much worse. And it's worth asking what these higher prices are relative to. Carrying water on your head costs much more--in terms of both money and effort--than piped water. If you're a poor person, wouldn't you rather face a private monopolist, selling you water through pipes, than not have any water company at all? Whether we like it or not, those are the real world alternatives.

Even so, Cowen's arguments seem awfully academic and not the least bit practical in a real world sense. Yes, base of the pyramid consumers are willing to pay for clean, safe water. But full-on deregulation? It's likely that it would negatively impact the poorest of the poor at the price of improving service for the middle and emerging middle classes. Besides, it's politically infeasible; see Bolivia, Cochabamba.

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