South Africa

African communities are becoming increasingly mobile-centric. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/70292973@N07/7192931934/">The Reboot (flickr)</a>

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Youth Skills

Windows to the world: Why Microsoft's $75 million mobile drop matters

Microsoft will spend $75 million to put tens of millions of smart devices into the hands of African youth by 2016, the company announced Monday.

Two actors in the a new video that satirizes assumptions that Africans are destitute. (Video still by Africa for Norway.)

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Save a Norwegian child today! Mail her your radiator

Sure, hunger is bad. But frostbite kills too. Africa for Norway aims to help freezing Norwegians survive the winter, one radiator at a time.

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Mobile, solar schools literally bring power to the powerless

Beep beep! For some students, hopping on the school bus is hopping into the classroom. Four communities are using solar-powered mobile classrooms to overcome inaccessibility to the power grid.

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The mobile phone is the bank of choice in Africa

A new Gallup Poll from Sub-Saharan Africa shows that the mobile phone is the most popular way to transfer money in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

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Who makes up the global middle class? Economists aren’t sure

We know that economists don’t always agree on the best path to prosperity.

Those mangroves aren't just nice-looking - they could be delivering serious value to nearby farms just by staying put. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aramisfirefly/3306656930/in/photostream/">Matthew Stewart (Flickr)</a>

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10 African countries will put a price on 'natural capital'

A plot of mangroves could be harvested for $850, then the land sold for $9,000 to a shrimp farmer. Or, alternatively, it could stay standing and offer $16,000 worth of flood protection to everyone nearby.

A new interactive map shows relative potential for wealth creation through cash transfers. Image: <a href="http://newamericafoundation.github.com/gssp/maps/payment.html#">New America Foundation</a>

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New map shows where cash transfers work - and where they don’t

Moving money is easier in some places than in others. This map shows where cash transfers work best as an antipoverty tool.

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Need answers? The Question Box helps people Google can't reach

Video courtesy Question Box.

Medic Mobile works with the simplest of cell phones to help provide health care to those far away from their nearest hospital. Photo: Fabiola Coupet/Mercy Corps.

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Medic Mobile turns cell phones into lifelines

In rural communities around the world, the virtual doctor is in.

Reliance on quality produce from Africa prompted Albert Heijn to undertake aid projects. Photo: Erik Mandell for MercyCorps

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Aid for profit? Dutch supermarket giant says ‘sure’

A Dutch company looks to combine international aid with corporate profit, according to allAfrica.com.

Industrial emissions are a major source of CO2 contributing to climate change. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/5410822714/sizes/z/in/photostream/">United Nations Photo (flickr)</a>

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Amid financial crisis, China is the new champion for carbon reduction

The ongoing global financial crisis should not impede the fight against climate change. That's the concern coming from a surprising corner of the world: China.

Developing countries are determined to foster stronger domestic science communities. Photo:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/4857944215/">NASA (flickr)</a>

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Space: The economic development frontier

Developing countries are shooting for the moon.

Girls who lack access to sanitary pads may miss up to 40 days of school a year. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps.

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Entrepreneurship vs. Menstruation: Africa's Race to Build a Better Sanitary Pad

In the United States, missing close to two months of school every year might get you expelled. For millions of women and girls in the developing world, it's a routine.