NextBillion

NextBillion’s goal is to stimulate discussion, raise awareness and provide a platform for sharing ideas that improve the lives of the poor and reshape entire economies.

Recent News

Flutterwave and Visa Launch African Consumer Payment Service GetBarter

Fintech startup Flutterwave has partnered with Visa to launch a consumer payment product for Africa called GetBarter.

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The New Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Almost 20 years ago, C.K. Prahalad and his colleague Stuart L. Hart proposed the radical idea that the 4 billion poor people around the world represented a vibrant consumer market. The idea has grown into two editions of a book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, profiling companies and social-sector organizations that had created successful business initiatives in developing economies.

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What Cloud Computing is Doing for Emerging Markets

Software development is starting up in countries previously unassociated with information technology, providing an opportunity for economic growth in emerging markets.

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An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

NextBillion is a community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGO managers, policy makers, academics and others exploring the connection between development and enterprise.

NextBillion chronicles new trends in market solutions to poverty that benefit the world’s 4 billion low-income producers and consumers – often known as the base of the pyramid. The site features in-depth analysis and opinion from thought leaders and researchers – as well as on-the-ground insights from social entrepreneurs. NextBillion launched in May 2005 as an initiative of the World Resources Institute’s Markets and Enterprise Program.

The William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan joined the World Resources Institute in the NextBillion partnership in 2010. Since 2012, NextBillion has been an initiative of WDI, an independent, non-profit research and educational organization focused on providing private-sector solutions in emerging markets.

NextBillion has 20 products available, viewing 1-20.

Genesis of a Green Brand in the Mayan Rainforest (Spanish)
Un consultor para el consorcio maya de agricultores de chicle disponía de tan solo tres meses para preparar el lanzamiento de la primera goma de mascar orgánica biodegradable en BIOFach,…
Publication Date: 09/11/2017 Product ID: 6-741-962
$3.95
Chenetha Colour Weaves’ Karghaa Brand: Social Impact with Commercial Success
Honorable mention in the 2015 Next Billion competition. Chenetha Colour Weaves (CCW) is a 100% weaver-owned social enterprise. The company has its is retail store, Karghaa in the high-end neighborhood…
Publication Date: 04/03/2015 Product ID: 1-429-428
$3.95
Maya Mountain Cacao: Optimizing Operations for Buyers and the Indigenous
Honorable mention in the 2015 Next Billion competition. Maya Mountain Cacao and its holding company, Uncommon Cocoa, are growing rapidly. The companies are transitioning from an early stage to a…
Publication Date: 04/03/2015 Product ID: 1-429-427
$3.95
Runa: Creating Value in the Amazon
Third-place winner of the 2015 Next Billion competition. The hybrid organization Runa has built the world’s first guayusa tea supply chain in Ecuador. The CEOs of the company have proposed…
Publication Date: 04/03/2015 Product ID: 1-429-426
$3.95
Grameen Intel Social Business: Technology Solutions at the Base of the Pyramid
Second-place winner of the 2015 NextBillion competition. Grameen Intel, a Bangladeshi-based joint venture between the Grameen Trust and Intel Corporation, is a social business that develops and delivers new technology…
Publication Date: 04/03/2015 Product ID: 1-429-425
$3.95
MPESO: Democratizing Finance in Nicaragua
First-place winner of the 2015 Next Billion competition. Haroldo Montealegre, CEO of MPESO, a mobile money social enterprise based in Managua, Nicaragua, founded his company as a means of extending…
Publication Date: 04/03/2015 Product ID: 1-429-424
$3.95
The Jaipur Foot: Challenges in Leading a Free Service Organization
Honorable Mention – 2014 NextBillion Case Writing Competition. D. R. Mehta has run the BMVSS, which gives the Jaipur Foot (an artificial prosthetic, free of cost to disabled people) for…
Publication Date: 04/01/2014 Product ID: 1-429-388
$3.95
Healthy City: Fostering Entrepreneurship at the Base of the Pyramid. A Peruvian Experience.
Honorable Mention – 2014 NextBillion Case Writing Competition. The Peruvian NGO Healthy City combats the country’s solid waste problem through three programs: developing comprehensive sanitation projects alongside municipalities, empowering and…
Publication Date: 04/01/2014 Product ID: 1-429-387
$3.95
Hydraid: Safe Water for the Base of the Pyramid
This case won Second Place in the 2013 NextBillion Case Writing Competition. Triple Quest, a joint venture between a manufacturer and a private investment company, is experimenting with different business…
Publication Date: 04/01/2013 Product ID: 1-429-332
$3.95
Community Enterprise Solutions: Replicating the Microconsignment Model
Honorable Mention in the 2013 NextBillion Case Writing Competition. The case describes the founding and growth of Community Enterprise Solutions (CE Solutions), an NGO working at the Base of the…
Publication Date: 04/01/2013 Product ID: 1-429-331
$3.95

NextBillion has 20 products available, viewing 1-20.