Posted on May 4, 2010 by Raj Melville
Saturday morning a ten foot water pipe, that brought water to over 2 million Boston residents, ruptured. Authorities declared a state of emergency and imposed a blanket ‘Boil Water’ order. In the space of 48 hours Boston residents instantly got a first hand lesson on how over 1 Billion people, nearly a sixth of the world’s population, live without access to clean water. Today’ as residents of Boston struggle to get a fresh glass of water, we hope their thoughts turn to the thousands who go without potable water day after day around the world and reach out and do something to help. Read the complete post at
http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Poverty, Rural Health, Sanitation, Schools, Social Ecosystem, Water, Water resources, non-profit, water and sanitation | Tagged: Sanitation, Water resources, Boston, Poverty, Water Centric | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 19, 2010 by Raj Melville
I, like many others, was saddened to hear of the untimely passing away of Prof. C. K. Prahalad. His career spanned over three decades during which time he introduced several innovative business ideas that quickly became mainstream. Perhaps his most widely influential work was his last book on “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” where he outlined his take on how corporations could profitably service the very large market that consists of the bottommost economic strata. You can read more at
http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: BOP, India, Poverty, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, creative capitalism, social Innovation | Tagged: BOP, CK Prahalad, India, international development, Poverty, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, Sustainable ventures | 1 Comment »
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 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 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 »
Posted on August 20, 2008 by Raj Melville
Paul Polak is a physiatrist by training but has spent the past 25 years working to alleviate poverty in the developing world. Paul has encapsulated his learnings in a book “Out of Poverty”. More recently, Paul has posted an interesting video on You tube that summarizes his “Twelve Steps to Practical Problem Solving”.
Filed under: Agricultural Development, BOP, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Entrepreneur, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Water, Water resources, international development, non-profit, sustainable development | Tagged: appropriate technology, bangladesh, BOP, innovation, international development, Paul Polak, Poverty, poverty alleviation, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact, social Innovation, treadle pump, youtube | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 11, 2008 by Raj Melville
I came across this article that summarizes Amy Smith’s philosophy of design for low cost solutions.
Here are her 7 key points. You can read the entire article on Popular Mechanics.
Filed under: BOP, Education, Poverty, Rural Development, Social Ecosystem, international development, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: Amy Smith, BOP, Education, innovation, international development, invention, Low Cost Design, MIT, Poverty, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact, social Innovation, sustainable development | Leave a Comment »
