By 2020, 21 Indian cities are expected to reach groundwater levels of zero, which will affect water access for 100 million people. Nearly half of India is already under drought during the summertime, and the current water crisis in Chennai is the latest example of what could soon happen to the country. The new government …
Days before Algeria’s 82-year-old strongman president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted from power, the country made one last ditch attempt to keep control: it shut down the internet. A few weeks later, 75-year-old Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s rule ended with a picture of mainly female protestors going viral on social media platforms. If there has been any common …
Two years ago, my business partner and I were in need of gap financing while we waited for a client to pay us. We approached the main banks but, even with collateral and our education technology company’s healthy financial record, we were deemed too big a risk and turned down. Luckily, we had an angel …
A poor widow in rural Bangladesh can choose from many competing mobile phone operators, weighing the best rates and customer service in order to reach her decision. Why should she not also have the right to choose, or at least be informed about, which NGO builds her flood-resistant home and be given the right to seek redress …
The notion of “Africa rising” is understandably alluring. The vision of hundreds of millions of Africans striding into the middle class, mobile phones in hand, is certainly a refreshing antidote to endless images of death and deprivation. But while there is no denying that economies are growing rapidly across the continent, this feel-good narrative risks …