Ryan Gunderson of Riches for Good reviewed The Power of Unreasonable People — a book that is receiving a lot of attention by the social entrepreneurship landscape. His summary of the book is clear and concise and provides a good synopsis of what to expect. In concluding, Gunderson writes – The Power of Unreasonable People [...]

SAS Motors recently announced the introduction of the Angad 240D, a tractor that the company claims will be cheaper for farmers to operate and maintain than a pair of bullocks. From Avashya: According to research, a farmer in India spends Rs. 3000/- to 4000/- per month on maintaining a pair of bullocks. This is an [...]

Startup Dunia writes that the website HealthcareMagic has been launched with the aim of becoming the primary portal for Indians’ healthcare needs. Utilizing the internet to make access more widely available, the website plans to offer the following features. Chat live with a doctor for free using the portal (between 9 AM – 9 PM [...]

Intellecap, a leading development finance consulting company, partnering with Aavishkaar Goodwell, is holding a microfinance business plan competition with application due March 15th. Srijan, which is in its 3rd year, is aimed at broadening the use of microfinance within the financial services sector. The website describes the competition as – The last two years has [...]

From Avashya: Indianwomenshealth.com is a website launched by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The website, targeted at the Indian women provides useful information on various issues pertaining to the women’s health. The website is a part of a media campaign that GSK launched for Women’s Horlicks.

The Deshpande Foundation is a Boston based philanthropic foundation focused on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and International Development. They recently launched three unique fellowship opportunities, where fellows can get grassroots experience working in Northwest region of Karnataka Sandbox Fellow: This is a year-long program for young professionals or post-graduate school candidates who seek an extended experience working [...]

The previous post on the emergence of new technologies focused on the poor has sparked debate or ruminations at the very least over the effects such increases in macro-consumption would have on India and the world. Tyler Cowen of Marginal Revolution raises valid concerns regarding the potential widespread adoption of the Tata Nano and its [...]

Why should the BoP not gain access to the newest technologies? A recent shift by major private sector players has shown that the old guard’s view that the poor do not need the latest and greatest technological innovation is no longer valid — as they too require what is on the cutting edge. Neerja Raman [...]

From PFM Blog here is some excerpts on their primer on PPPs. Though by no means a holistic definition, the primer briefly outlines public-private partnerships as being “arrangements in which the private sector supplies infrastructure assets and services traditionally provided by governments. Some authors add that the presence of external financing as a necessary condition; [...]

From Microcapital.org Cracking the Capital Markets: South Asia Date: APRIL 29-30, 2008 Place: DELHI, INDIA Cohosted by ACCION International and Standard Chartered Bank, this microfinance investment conference will bring together a wide range of finance professionals – institutional and private investors, leading microfinance institutions in Asia, international and regional banks, emerging markets specialists and rating [...]