It was interesting to see first hand the technologies students at MIT came up with to solve problems in developing countries. They showcased their “inventions” as part of the Harvard Development Conference (HDC).

Speaking of the HDC, Bill Easterly during his keynote speech highlighted the need for a bottom-up approach to poverty alleviation. A process where change is bought about by the people (in the form of local entrepreneurs) themselves - a concept that lies at the core beliefs of organizations such as Ashoka and Acumen Fund. In the process, he completely rolled over Jeff Sachs and his notion of increasing the level of foriegn aid to the poorest of the poor. Mr. Easterly writes more in his new book “White Man’s Burden”.

Innovations, the journal…

MIT Press has launched Innovations - a new journal focusing on technology, governance and globalization. The innagural issue is a very good read and very relevant to what we normally write about here. Via Acumen Fund Blog….