Check out www.nextbillion.net to see my first feature article on the Solar Energy Foundation Philippines “Ride for Light 2011“!

Excerpt:  Solar technology-focused social enterprises in Africa and Asia have utilized numerous creative marketing and PR strategies to share their products and solutions with off-grid communities in dire need of light. From traditional print campaigns to traveling workshops and microfinance-led information sessions, the workday of a “Solar Salesman” is usually filled with hours on the phone, hundreds of e-mails/texts and countless in-person meetings with new partners or customers who desperately need their technologies…

My latest piece, a fascinating interview with Aden Van Noppen of Micro Home Solutions in Delhi, is up on RisingPyramid.org. Check it out!

Article link: “Housing Solutions for India’s Underprivileged“

Link: Micro Home Solutions website

Link: Piramal Fellowship

Aden Van Noppen Bio (from MHS website): Aden Van Noppen joins micro Home Solutions in November on the Piramal Fellowship to assist with strategic planning and partnership management. She was previously a Portfolio Associate at Acumen Fund in New York. Prior to Acumen Fund, Aden worked at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, an international development consulting firm, and was a Research Fellow at the Breakthrough Institute and a founding advisor of Breakthrough Generation, the Institute’s first youth initiative. Aden holds a B.A. in International Development from Brown University.

Ayllu does a ton of interesting work, but their primary goal is to map out and gather data from every Social Enterprise in the world (Similar to what MIXMarket does for the Microfinance industry).

Check out their website! www.aylluinitative.org

Check it out!

Check it out: Interview with the Praekelt Foundation, Part II

I’ve recently started guest writing for http://risingpyramid.org/ and my first piece, an interview with the Chief Engineer of The Praekelt Foundation, came out today.

Check it out!

RisingPyramid – “Mobile Tech in Africa, an Interview with The Praekelt Foundation“

“Wait, but you’ve been working for 4 years right? how can you just pack up and leave?”

“How are you planning to pay for all this?”

“You have a great job and apartment in Santa Monica, why the heck would you want to ship off to Africa??” (My personal favorite)

I’ll be honest, planning a trip of this magnitude is quite the undertaking. Particularly on the financial side, it does take some foresight to make sure you have the budget to make all your plans reality. That said, I after studying abroad in Spain, backpacking through South America, working for 3 months in Buenos Aires and now departing for a lengthy trip to Africa and Asia, I’ve realized that, like anything, planning a trip like this in your mid to late twenties actually isn’t that bad.

To make it easier for you, I’ve decided to start a multi-part series focused on what it takes to plan a work/travel trip around the world. The posts will be split up into three sections:

• Professional tips (aka “Creative ways to make your experience a resume-booster”)
• Travel planning/living abroad tips (aka “a crash course in setting up a new life a thousand miles away”)
• The “must-have” list of things to bring

Undoubtedly these posts will evolve as I continue along my journey, but hopefully at the conclusion of my travels they will serve as a useful tool for future kindred souls, eager to journey outside of their comfort zone and see what the world has to offer them both professionally and personally.

As always, look forward to your thoughts and open to any and all suggestions!

Josiah

New data was released last month by the International Telecommunication Union that serves as a powerful, data-backed illustration of just how big a factor mobile will be going forward, especially in Africa:

As you can see, while mobile cellular penetration per 100 people is quite high in all regions, it is specifically in Africa where the disparity is most pronounced. Fixed broadband and Mobile together only reach ~3.8% of every 100 people, while mobile cellular reaches an astounding ~41%.

People at the bottom of the pyramid are using their mobile phones to do so many things they couldn’t do before; message friends, check on deliveries to their home businesses, and read materials promoting AIDS awareness. There is a tremendous opportunity to use this new medium to promote positive global change, I will highlight one company doing exactly that with my upcoming interview featuring the Praekelt Foundation (coming soon).

Link to ITU source data

Check out my introductory post!

Business Around the World