Trade

Koblah Agbeta holds up rice seeds from his farm in Abutia Kpota, Ghana. Quality seeds are critical for a good harvest. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48639212@N02/4775000120/">Gates Foundation (Flickr)</a>

share

Value Chains

GMO wars should take back seat to other farm issues, says DuPoint Pioneer

A corporate seed manufacturer is suggesting that slowing the spread of genetically modified crops would be acceptable, if that's what it takes to keep industrializing Africa's farms.

Heinz sells 80 percent of British beans. That may be exactly why they passed on a chance to do so in a more innovative way. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vek/4226781275/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Kevin Spencer (flickr)</a>

share

Value Chains

Why the biggest brand sometimes isn't the best innovation partner

A new case study of the Ethiopian bean industry includes a depressing anecdote reminding us that innovation rarely starts at the top of the market.

In Greece, right-wing parties have blamed immigrants for economic trouble. But a survey of the facts shows that migration brings benefits to rich and poor countries alike. Photo: <a href="http://flic.kr/p/bDqGit">Giannis Angelakis (Flickr)</a>

share

Would freer migration be even better for growth than freer trade?

After decades of debate, global trade is finally mostly free, and the world is reaping the benefits.

Global migration is another story.

Chinese agriculture is shifting away from some traditional products like gingko to capture Western markets<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/5416212301/lightbox/">World Bank Photo Collection (flickr)</a>

share

Value Chains

As Chinese farming goes global, some see risks

The reorientation of Chinese agriculture to an export-centric model is creating unprecedented domestic growth, but there may be a hidden cost to developing nations.

Addis Ababa-based entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun at the World Economic Forum in May 2012. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/7169657482/sizes/z/in/photostream/">World Economic Forum (Flickr)</a>

share

Quotable: 'People don't want to be not poor'

Bethlehem Tilahun, Ethiopian entrepreneur and founder of SoleRebels Footwear, in the New York Times:

“As I entered college ... it had become clear to me that ‘poverty alleviation’ is a myth.”

Soon social enterprises will have stock exchanges all their own; fancy architecture might take time <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/4714512004/sizes/l/in/photostream/">flickr, stevecadman</a>

share

Marrying cash and change: social 'stock markets' spread worldwide

This article was republished by

An office tower (built by a Chinese construction firm) rises in Kigali's growing financial district. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15231093@N00/7667519730/">Thomas Stellmach (Flickr)</a>

share

As Europe turns inward, new pan-African banks grab for growth

Africa is booming. The West is obsessed with Europe's financial roil. For African banks, it's a major business opportunity.

Hauling a load of jute to market may lose some luster if Bangladesh fails to cope with global trade fluctuations <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelfoleyphotography/392624379/sizes/o/in/photostream/">Flickr, Michael Foley Photography</a>

share

Globalization at work: Sanctions on Iran threaten Bangladesh's cash crop

Hanging from the world trade network by a thread: developing economies are easily rocked by regional events that profoundly alter the marketplace.

The frenetic pace of social impact bond imeplementation is matched only by the Saigon rush hour <a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonashansel/4548443949/">Flickr, Jonas Hansel</a>

share

"Pay for success" is a hot new social impact financing tool, but does it work?

Countries and investors are lining up to implement a new way to fund social services, but with few existing projects and scant evidence that it works.

Designing products that meet the needs of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid also requires a keen knowledge of how best to sell those products. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps

share

Doing less, better: The case for higher prices at the bottom of the pyramid

The only way to make money selling things to the very poor is with miniscule prices, microscopic margins and massive volume—right?

Impact investment has to grow up before the serious cash can flow. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amagill/3367543094/">AMagill (flickr)</a>

share

Too little data, too few opportunities: Impact investment's difficult adolescence

Impact investing faces serious obstacles before reaching its market potential.

As the world's consumers get richer, older, more urban and more demanding, small companies will see more and more rewards for exporting their goods. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/5978367807/in/photostream/">USDA (Flickr)</a>

share

How 'itty-bitty multinantionals' can serve the world's rising middle class

The global consumer market is changing, and big companies are taking notice.

Why the wait? The World Bank investigates Sub-Saharan port turnover. Photo: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/vithassan/284900957/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Vít Hassan (Flickr)</a>.

share

Anticompetitive collusion is silently choking Africa's ports

A new study by the World Bank has found a complex answer to a simple question: why does cargo spend weeks in Sub-Saharan ports?

A child eats Plumpy'nut in Ethiopia. Photo: Bija Gutoff/Mercy Corps.

share

Franchised manufacturing: For social enterprises, an idea worth copying

How do you get poverty-fighting products to the furthest corners of the globe the way that Coca-Cola gets its products there? Use the same strategy, obviously.