Archive for Uncategorized

In India since 1949, private healthcare has grown from just 8% of healthcare services to 93% of hospitals and 85% of doctors. Private financing makes up 78% of total health spending, which is one of the highest in the world. Approximately 40% of India’s population must either borrow money or sell assets to pay for hospitalization and, each year, nearly a quarter of that number fall into poverty due to medical expenses.

In an article published last week by Guardian reporter Rosalind Miller, Indian cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty may have found a solution. Globally, Shetty has received acclaim as the chairman and founder of the Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals in Bengaluru, India, a 1,000-bed “heart factory.” Here, open-heart surgery costs significantly less than anywhere else in the world. Low-cost surgery is not Shetty’s only proposition: he provides free care to patients who cannot afford to pay and subsidizes their care by charging those who can pay a higher rate. The Bengaluru hospitals have coined the nickname “health city.” » Continue reading “The IKEA of Healthcare”

What is an “indovation”? Navi Radjou, Executive Director of the Centre for India and Global Business at the University of Cambridge, is credited with creating the term. As the name implies, an indovation is an innovation developed in India. What makes indovation unique, however, is not just its geographic identity, but that scale and scope are inherent components of the concept. The point is to create more at less cost for more people. A fine example of indovation is the Tata Nano, a low-cost car built by the Indian company Tata Motors. It is currently the cheapest car in the world with a sticker price of US $2000. The Nano makes owning a car much more accessible to the general Indian public. » Continue reading “Talking about INDOvations”

Villgro Unconvention
On Dec. 3 -4 the second annual Unconvention social entrepreneurship conference will bring together stakeholders to discuss and exchange social market business models and ideas. This year’s conference will include a summit, an investor forum, a business plan competition, an innovation fair and the Villgro Awards. Beyond Profit will serve as the social media partners and offer a 25% discount.

iDiya
iDiya is a national Social Venture Ideas Competition organized by the Indian School of Business. It aims to develop high impact, self-sustaining social businesses in India. The winners of iDiya have been invited to ISB for a one-week bootcamp, which started November 27, where they will be
trained by industry experts, ISB faculty, and entrepreneurs. Beyond Profit will serve as a media partner.

Social Mashup
Social Mashup is a social entrepreneurship conference being organized by UnLtd India. It will see start-up and senior social entrepreneurs; and funders/investors converge at the Indian School of Business on December 2 and 3. The agenda will cover topics like fund raising, governance, case studies etc. through informal story sharing sessions and learning circles. Beyond Profit will serve as a media partner.

You can also find us at the Rural Marketing Congress, on December 7 an 8 at the J.W. Marriott in Mumbai. Beyond Profit is also a media supporter of the 2011 Unreasonable Institute. Applications are due December 15. Apply here.

There are many graduate schools across the world building support for social enterprise by holding social enterprise competitions, teaching classes on social entrepreneurship, and fostering the creation of groups that encourage social enterprise. The majority of these schools are MBA programs.

It’s curious, though, that we don’t hear much about policy programs pushing a social enterprise agenda. There are definite crossovers between policy and social enterprise. Government leaders have helped to create an enabling environment for social enterprise in several different ways. There’s the social impact bond in the UK, priority sector lending in India, and L3Cs and the Social Innovation Fund in the US—just to name a few. » Continue reading “Policy Programs and Social Enterprise?”

The G-20 SME Finance Challenge—the innovative search for ways to extend capital to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world—has announced 14 winners.

The contest, announced this past summer by G-20 leaders, challenged private sector companies to identify innovative models that would allow public programs to more effectively use private finance, and the winners have been announced.

The world is starting to pay attention to SMEs—the primary provider of jobs around the world. As we reported in the most recent issue of our e-magazine, the G20 meeting this November in South Korea will focus on development issues, and in particular, on financing solutions for SMEs. The 14 winners will be present, and millions of dollars will be dedicated to these ideas. » Continue reading “Winners of the G-20 SME Finance Challenge”

D.I.Y. Foreign-Aid Revolution

Questions for Melinda Gates: The Donor

Turning Values into Action

Water Is Africa’s Lifeblood, FLOW Smartphone App Checks the Pressure

Globalization with Crusoe and Gulliver

The U.S. presidential visit to India in November is causing quite a stir in the Indian business community. A hot topic on President Obama’s agenda is outsourcing. There has been much media coverage about how lucrative the outsourcing business has become for India and how it may be impairing job creation for the depressed U.S. economy. One perspective the media has omitted in reporting is how the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry may be presenting learning and employment opportunities for India’s rural poor. » Continue reading “BPO Opportunities as part of the Poverty Alleviation Toolkit?”

Recent allegations against Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) by the media and the State have thrown sector stakeholders into a crisis. Accusations against MFIs include coercive practices, lack of transparency, and “usurious” interest rates. These accusations have resulted in the passage of an Ordinance by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP). Intellecap, an India-based social business advisory firm and publisher of Beyond Profit, has released a White Paper in response to the crisis. Thought-provoking and informative, the White Paper analyzes the buildup to the crisis in AP, attempts to revisit some fundamentals of the business, and questions the effectiveness of radical approaches to multiple bottom-line business by the State and the media. We welcome your comments here and at Microfinance Insights.

Download Intellecap’s White Paper here.

Related Reading:

“Killing microfinance will help moneylenders” The Economic Times, 24 October, 2010
“Quash AP ordinance on MFIs, SKS to HC” The Times of India, 22 October, 2010
“India’s microfinance conundrum” The Asian Correspondent, 18 October, 2010

Shreya Gadepalli admitted in front of an audience of 50 or so people gathered at the Nehru Center in Mumbai last week that she once was an addict. Her vice of choice consumed her thoughts and altered her behavior.

But she was not the type of addict you might think. In fact, she said, most people share her addiction:

Cars

Gadepalli is the Senior Program Director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and spoke about the importance of getting over our collective addiction to the automobile at the Building Livable Cities 2010 event held in Mumbai and organized by The Urban Vision. » Continue reading “Getting Over Our Collective Addiction to the Automobile”