Root Capital Receives PRI and Grant From Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Root Capital Announced as Recipient of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's First Agricultural Development Program-Related Investment


$10 million investment and $4 million grant will expand economic
opportunities for 500,000 rural households in Africa



Root Capital was announced today as the recipient of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s first program-related investment (PRI) from its Agricultural Development initiative. Root Capital will use the six-year, $10 million PRI as loan capital to scale its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The investment will expand economic opportunities for more than 500,000 rural households by enabling Root Capital to extend access to credit, financial management training, and global market opportunities for small and growing rural businesses. The $4 million operating grant will support Root Capital’s five-year growth plan to achieve a financially self-sustainable lending program by 2013.

“Providing access to capital, financial training, and global markets empowers businesses to grow, communities to thrive, and economies to flourish,” said William Foote, Founder and CEO of Root Capital. “Root Capital is honored to receive funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to connect smallholder farmers and other rural producers in Sub-Saharan Africa to global markets. We aspire to catalyze broader change in the capital markets that will truly impact global poverty and improve livelihoods for the rural poor.”

“Access to the types of financial services provided by Root Capital is a critical enabling factor in the development of efficient agricultural markets and the entire value chain,” said Lutz Goedde, deputy director of the Agricultural Development initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “By funding these services, we hope to provide small farmers and their families opportunities to increase their incomes and lift themselves out of hunger and poverty.”

To read the full press release, click here .

For all press inquiries, contact Lara Cote: lcote@rootcapital.org

Kiva's lack of trasparency?

A couple of people in class sent out articles about David Roodman's Microfinance Open Book Blog on Kiva's lack of trasparency.
Enjoy the back to back with the founder of Kiva, Matt Flannery

http://blogs.cgdev.org/open_book/2009/10/matt-flannery-kiva-ceo-and-co-founder-replies.php

Microfinance group in CDO scheme

The article Antony has mentioned in class on Deutsche Bank and a major microfinance company trying to rehabilitate CDO as a mean for microfinance market.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4eb7b5c-ceff-11de-8a4b-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Enjoy!

Inspirations and Innovations: Bridging the Technology Gap

Over the course of two days, March 27 and 28, 2009, the African Economic Forum, presented as a collaboration between the African Business Club, SIPA Pan-African Network, and African Law Students Association, demonstrated a multifaceted approach to understanding the challenges the continent faces in the wake of the global economic crisis as well as the resources it can harness to provide the impetus for rapid and reliable economic and social development particularly through technology.

http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/chazen/journal/article/733348/Inspirations+and+Innovations%3A+Bridging+the+Technology+Gap#

Video on water privatization

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTKn17uZRAE&feature=PlayList&p=397C7215C0DAA609&index=6

Water privatization

Submitted by Jackson Hewett

A great article from way back when water privatization was a hot button issue "leasing the rain"
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/04/08/020408fa_FACT1

ICT4D

Use of information and communication technologies for international development is moving to its next phase. This will require new technologies, new approaches to innovation, new intellectual integration, and, above all, a new view of the world's poor.

http://www2.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/MC.2008.192

http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/ict4d-2-0-where-next-for-icts-and-development/

VisionSpring Featured at Clinton Global Initiative

VisionSpring Conference Spotlight: Commitment Success Featured at 2009 CGI

On September 23rd, VisionSpring was one of three organizations featured during the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative session “Economic Empowerment and Cross-Cutting Approaches.” Chairman and Co-founder Dr. Jordan Kassalow spoke about the pioneering partnership with BRAC that enabled VisionSpring to complete a three-year commitment one year ahead of schedule. After the event, Dr. Kassalow and the head of BRAC, Mr. Fazle Abad, agreed to make a commitment in 2010 to extend the reach of the partnership tenfold, providing over 3 million pairs of high impact reading glasses to those in need and empowering more than 30,000 women to start a business. VisionSpring and BRAC are seeking partners to join in this landmark venture.

Watch Dr. Kassalow Speak at the Clinton Global Initiative <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?VisionSpring/3660feb4fc/2501ac8acf/6e00f90c2b/id=841>

VisionSpring Eyeglasses "Selling Like Hotcakes!" in South AfricaFinal

Last July, VisionSpring launched its first partnership in South Africa, with Women’s Development Business (WDB) Group. Just two months into the pilot, WDB’s pilot group of Vision Entrepreneurs has broken the record for the highest first month of sales in any partnership, and WDB reports that VisionSpring glasses are “selling like hotcakes!” At the close of the first Vision Entrepreneur training, inspired by the arrival of the glasses and a new business opportunity, the women of WDB broke into an impromptu song and dance, caught on video by VisionSpring’s Carrie Magnuson.

To learn more about why the WDB launch has flourished, check out the latest blog post on “Business in a Bag <http://cts.vresp.com/c/VisionSpring/3660feb4fc/2501ac8acf/80e72da31e> .”

Join WDB's celebration by watching this video <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?VisionSpring/3660feb4fc/2501ac8acf/c58cbed8cc>

Microfinance as distribution networks

We have discussed the necessity to reduce costs in serving BOP customers and the need to sell to a fragmented client base through efficient distribution networks. The idea of partnering with microfinance institutions to distribute goods has come a few times. I therefore thought you would find the attached article from an interesting new Indian business magazine, Outlook, interesting. This is a cover story on microfinance as distribution networks from a July, 2009 issue.

Prof. Bugg-Levine

http://business.outlookindia.com/newolb/article.aspx?240795

Japenese firms getting interested in BOP

Daily Yomiuri Online – Japan

Naoto Azuma / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
An increasing number of Japanese companies have begun to target the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), the world's poorest socioeconomic group, aiming to eradicate poverty and improve sanitary conditions in developing countries--and reap a...
..."social entrepreneurs" also are engaging in the same field. Microfinance International Corp., set up by former Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi employee...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20090928TDY07306.htm

Video interview with Alvaro Rodriguez - IGNIA

Hi All,

Please take a look at Alvaro Rodriguez’s interview with Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief for The Economist at the Clinton Global Initiative 2009.

http://audiovideo.economist.com/?fr_chl=e47af75afdb36a7a772156054235a8dfbfa5964f&rf=bm&source=hptextfeature

Mara

Child Mortality Rate Declines Globally

During today class Professor Bugg-Levine has discussed child mortality as a proxy for development.
You can find an interesting article on the topic http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/world/10child.html?_r=4.
Enjoy the reading!