Posted on October 16, 2009 by Raj Melville
Jhonatan Rotberg, was sent to MIT by Telmex, one of Latin America’s largest telcos, and teaches NextLab where he tries to bring cellular technology to the other 90 percent of the world. One of the labs startups, CelEdu, offers cellphone-based games and quizzes to teach basic literacy skills in India. Ranjani Saigal from the TIE Social Entrepreneurs Group helped connect CelEdu students to Tara Aakshar. Read the entire article at http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: BOP, Information Technology, Poverty, Rural Development, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, international development, mobile technology, social Innovation | Tagged: BOP, Education, Information Technology, Jhonatan Rotberg, MIT, mobile technology, NextLab, Poverty, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact, social Innovation, Telmex | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 11, 2009 by Raj Melville
In the past decade, much progress has been made in India and people have been justifiably proud of the improving economic situation. While most observers point to the top line numbers that show the number of people living below the “poverty line” has been consistently decreasing, by focusing on just these aseptic numbers, they fail to understand and capture the continuing anguish in the rural countryside.
Filed under: BOP, India, Poverty, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, Rural Education, Sanitation, Schools, bottom of the pyramid, water and sanitation | Tagged: Agricultural Development, BOP, George Foundation, India, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Education, Shanti Bhavan, Social Impact, World Bank | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 13, 2009 by Raj Melville
Responding to a comment on my recent blog post on “The Increasing Focus on the Rural Indian Consumer” I decided to write a longer response outlining what needs to be done to really address increasing rural income in India.
Filed under: Agricultural Development, BOP, India, Poverty, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, Rural Education, Rural Entrepreneur, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, international development, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: Agricultural Development, BOP, eJeevika, rural BPO, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, Rural Education, Rural Entrepreneur, sustainable development, Vigyan Ashram | 4 Comments »
Posted on May 11, 2009 by Raj Melville
I had gotten a copy of Acumen Fund founder, Jacqueline Novogratz’s, book “The Blue Sweater” a couple of months ago and had kept promising myself that I would read it. Once I started reading I was hooked. Before I knew it I had plowed through the entire volume. This is an extraordinary and powerful book.
Filed under: BOP, Health, Information Technology, Investment, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, international development, micro-finance, social Innovation, sustainable development, venture philanthropy | Tagged: Acumen Fund, BOP, Health, Information Technology, international development, micro-finance, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, Social Investment, Sustainable ventures, venture philanthropy | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2009 by Raj Melville
I have been in India for the past week and one of the trends I have noticed is the increased focus on the rural market. Perhaps it is the ongoing elections or maybe the global recession, but companies across the board seem to have a renewed emphasis on targeting the rural consumer. Here are a few key facts that seem to stand out.
Filed under: Agricultural Development, BOP, India, Investment, Poverty, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, bottom of the pyramid, micro-finance, microfinance, mobile technology, sustainable development | Tagged: BOP, Coca Cola, eJeevika, GE, India, micro-finance, mobile technology, Poverty, rural BPO, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, Social Impact, sustainable development, Wall Street Journal, WIPRO | 3 Comments »
Posted on September 28, 2008 by Raj Melville
We have a terrific line up of speakers and panels for ForSE 2008 on October 10th at Boston University. See the list below. Do make sure you have registered as there are very few seats left.
To register go to: http://www.bu.edu/forse
Filed under: Conference, Education, Food, Information Technology, OLPC, Philanthropy, Poverty, Service, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, environment, micro-finance, mobile technology, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainability, sustainable development | Tagged: adaptation, BOP, Boston, Climate Change, Conference, ecosystem, Education, Food Security, Food Supply, ForSE 2008, Global Warming, microfinance, mobile technology, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, sustainability, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures, youth, Youth entrepreneurship | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 18, 2008 by Raj Melville
Rising global temperatures and erratic local weather patterns are of growing concern all around the world. Scientists worldwide have confirmed the reality of climate change and the impact of humans in increasing Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. While it is important to mitigate climate change and its impact, positive results will be seen only after several decades. In the meantime, climate change and a rise in global temperatures will continue to occur, with changes in weather, ecology and environment impacting our daily lives on earth. Therefore it is important to adopt two strategies – mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
Filed under: BOP, Conference, Education, Poverty, Social Ecosystem, Waste, Water, Water resources, environment, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainability, sustainable development | Tagged: adaptation, BOP, Boston, Climate Change, Conference, ecosystem, Education, ForSE 2008, Global Warming, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 16, 2008 by Raj Melville
The internet and personal computers have had a significant impact on the developing world. The advent of cell phones provided a cheap technology platform that has penetrated the farthest reaches of the world. No place better exemplifies this than India, with over 8.5 million additional subscribers in 2007, making it the country with the second largest wireless subscriber base. The cheap and pervasive technology platform has spawned a number of innovative solutions to address the social challenges at bottom of the pyramid, such as access to finance, illiteracy, and health care. This track will highlight some of these innovative solutions that have a significant potential for impact in the developing world.
Filed under: BOP, Conference, Information Technology, OLPC, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, mobile technology, non-profit, social Innovation | Tagged: BOP, Boston, Conference, ecosystem, Education, ForSE 2008, Information Technology, internet, Mobile, mobile technology, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 6, 2008 by Raj Melville
Last Week’s Time magazine had an article written by Jeffery Sachs titled “Safety in Numbers” that highlights programs that are recruiting community workers to provide basic health services in rural communities. By investing in basic health care training of community workers, these programs provide a safety net for thousands of poor people who would otherwise be unattended.
Filed under: BOP, Health, India, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Health, Social Ecosystem | Tagged: Anbumani Ramadoss, BOP, Health, Health Insurance, healthcare, India, Information Technology, Jeffery Sachs, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Health, Satyam, Time Magazine | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 28, 2008 by Raj Melville
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “India’s Poor Get Health Care in a Card”, outlines a program being launched in India to provide affordable healthcare to the masses. The key component of the program, which is targeted at those earning less than $100 per year, is the use of a secure smart card to store the beneficiary’s personal data and fingerprints.
Filed under: BOP, Information Technology, Politics, Poverty, Rural Development, Social Ecosystem, international development, social Innovation | Tagged: BOP, Health, Health Insurance, hospital, ICICI, India, Information Technology, National Health Insurance Program, Poverty, Rural Development, smart card, Wall Street Journal | Leave a Comment »
