Blog

Making Cents International Founder and CEO Fiona Macaulay provides a preview of the 2012 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference. Fiona discusses key themes and invites participants to help shape next year's conference by visiting youtheconomicopportunities.org.

Making Cents Founder and CEO Fiona Macaulay discusses the evolution of the conference, key conference takeaways, and the importance of a knowledge management framework.

There have been steady increases in volunteering organizations that offer opportunities for diaspora community members to return and serve in their home countries.

Find all of the Microlinks coverage from the Making Cents 2011 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference in one place, along with great photos from the three-day event!

Mike Rios of 17 Triggers provides insights from the plenary session, "Entertainment for Change-- Effective Uses of Entertainment Education, Social Media and Social Marketing."

Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek provides key takeaways from the opening plenary at the Making Cents International Conference.

The panelists jumped right into the session with their thoughts on the most exciting technology-related breakthroughs in the field.

Upgrading has implications for the workforce and means that needs are constantly changing. In developing countries, it could be that a whole host of skills and occupations totally unknown today will be totally essential in three years’ time.

Twitter highlights from day one of the Making Cents Conference.

A variety of emerging technologies connects the digital fieldworker to the value chain, according to Shaun Ferris of Catholic Relief Services in his presentation, “CRS ICT4D Strategy,” at the ICT4D August Meetup.

On August 22, the ICT for Development (ICT4D) Learning Network hosted an expert panel on how ICTs, or information and communication technologies, are enabling agriculture and improving livelihoods worldwide.

In March, the World Bank and Russian Ministry of Finance signed an agreement to create a $25 million project to encourage more citizens with middle and low incomes to save regularly as well as to participate in financial services.

Looking outside traditional microcredit methods.

Earthwise Ferries, one of 14 winners of the USAID- and Western Union-funded African Diaspora Marketplace business plan competition, is launching a fleet of "green" ferries on Lake Victoria to facilitate trade and travel.

On May 17, 2011, The U.S. Department of State, The United States Agency for International Development, United States Trade and Development Agency, and Migration Policy Institute convened to launch the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) at the Secretary's Global Diaspora Forum.

Carolina Trivelli, Institute of Peruvian Studies, on IPS's current project in rural savings

Ewa Bańkowska discusses MFC's social performance management strategies

Key takeaways from Milford Bateman

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs are receiving more recognition and attention from the development community

Last week during Learning Week 2011 at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, I attended a session, “Innovative Approaches to Financial Inclusion: How is the G-20 Addressing the Access Challenges?” The panel included Bailey Klinger, Cofounder and Director of the Entrepreneurial Finance Lab; Raúl Hernández-Coss, Director General for Access to Finance; Tilman Ehrbeck, CEO, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor; and Samuel Munzele Maimbo, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, Finance and Private Sector, Africa, World Bank.

Discussion on “Wireless Democracy: Innovation in Africa” address important issues that ICT providers face when operating in Africa

At the USAID Microenterprise Development Office Breakfast Seminar #54: Seeds of Change, the presenters from Abt Associates offered a compelling session on using a behavior change (BC) methodology to strengthen agriculture value chains. Abt’ers Gael O’Sullivan and Stephen Rahaim bring years of BC experience, especially in the health sector, to this relatively new USAID-supported approach to agriculture development.

Harshika Errangani blogged about the SEEP 2010 Annual Conference.

The Microlinks team was on the move for the 2010 AgKnowledge Share Fair in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia October 18-21

The 2010 SEEP Annual Conference got off to a great start today with several Member Day activities. Of particular interest to many of the attendees was the lunch session highlighting USAID’s Feed the Future Initiative.