Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their site visits to pro-poor initiatives in Mumbai. Attendees discuss the need and role of these social enterprises in their current context as well as in the writer’s home region. 1298 Ambulance is a low-cost pay-per-use ambulance service, the first of its kind in India.

By Sheila Ochugboju, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) (Kenya)

Our field visit to the Dial 1298 Ambulance in Mumbai revealed the concept of “Mission Command” first explained by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, the great military strategist, Chief of Staff for the Prussian Army in the late 19th century. Simply put, it illustrates the art of defining and refining good adaptable plans, a process whereby the company goals and objectives are allowed to filter way-down the lines authority, allowing the deepest level of delegation to create an empowered workforce, able to deliver critical results in very difficult circumstances. » Continue reading “1298 Ambulance”

Searchlight participants who attended “The Future of the Urban Poor” convening in Mumbai in April 2011 offer thoughts on their experience in Asia’s biggest slum in comparison to poor communities in their home regions.

By Dr. Julius Gatune, Africa Centre for Economic Transformation (Ghana)

Dharavi is the reality that will face many of the rapidly urbanizing populations around the world. However, the future of the urban poor need not be as bleak as Dharavi shows. We saw examples of programs to improve the living conditions in slums, along with actively supporting the growth of slum-based industries. » Continue reading “Dharavi Reflection 1″

This story originally appeared in our February 24, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

The private sector can play a large role in providing education to the bottom of the pyramid.

By Irene Pritzker

While education is the key to poverty alleviation, governments and development agencies cannot keep up with the demand for efficiently run primary schools. In Ghana and other developing countries, to successfully include all children in the education system means working outside the traditional government education framework and embracing the private sector.

In Ghana, as with virtually every developing country, dissatisfaction with the government education system has given rise to the prolific growth of low-cost private schools. The schools are at the very bottom of the economic pyramid; in some cases the schools are nothing more than dirt floors with half walls or merely benches under a tree. These impoverished schools are disenfranchised and don’t receive any government funding, resources or textbooks. » Continue reading “The Power of the Private Sector”