Under $2 Crowd
Low-Cost Laptop Space Gets More Competition, Mobiles Will Prevail
Now I usually don't blog about whatever is hot over on Techmeme. But, today I'm making an exception since a few of the conversations are right up my alley.
Specifically all the various OLPC Techmeme threads.
I posted earlier today that I think that the "developing nation" market will for the most part skip laptops and go [...]
Developing Nations Will Skip Laptop Drama and Jump Straight To Mobile
I have been following One Laptop for awhile here at BUZZYEAH.
I've followed their drama with Intel, their reconciliation with Intel and their most current break-up with Intel (good break-up coverage on BBC and Techmeme).
One Laptop and Intel are both doing really cool things in the affordable computer space. Too bad their endeavors reek of high [...]
Google Phone: Whenever It Comes, It Will Be Great For Developing Countries
Man, it seems like every blog I’ve read over the past week or so has been buzzing about the ever-elusive Google Phone a.k.a. Gphone. Engadget says Google is talking with Indian telcos. Michael Arrington says the GPhone will be much different than the iPhone. CrunchGear said it has an exclusive source tipping it that the [...]
I Love My Local Blood Bank
My sister is in Nigeria this summer interning as a nurse at some pretty rural hospitals. She sends us stream-of-consciousness emails every week or so detailing her wide-eyed experiences that are always weighted with complex health and socio-economic issues.
This time she tells us about a simple yet crucial system that is lacking in rural Nigerian [...]
Try To Avoid Car Rides When in Nigeria
My sister is in Nigeria this summer doing a nursing internship at a pretty remote hospital in Ile Ife. She sends us emails jam-packed with alarming experiences every couple of days. Here's an excerpt from a recent email:
On the way back it was pouring rain and about an hour away from Jengre we came across [...]
A Post-TechCrunch 9 Conversation That Really Bothered Me
Photo: Zenfolio, From left: TC interns Mark, me, Ben and Rahul
The TechCrunch 9 Party at August Capital last Friday was really exciting. It was fun meeting all the product founders in person especially the people at Pandora, DOmedia, Wallhogs and Profile Builder.
I’m new to the whole tech schmoozing scene and TC9 was only my second [...]
The Big Picture With The Under $2 a Day Crowd
I think we are going to start seeing more and more companies seeing the big picture in regards to low-income users in developing nations. How? Technology.
I’m starting to see more and more examples of this where technology allows companies to offer services to severely low-income users on slim profit margins. For instance, the mobile banking [...]
The Perfect Kiva Model, Direct-to-Entrepreneur Loans via Cell Phones
Matthew Flannery, Kiva’s founder and CEO, had an excellent post yesterday about why they don’t offer disintermediated loans like Prosper.com and the UK’s Ropa.
Disintermediated loans meaning loans that don’t need third party involvement like Kiva’s MFI partners. He also mentions in the post that in the future they would like to offer disintermediated loans directly [...]
Peer-to-Peer Online Lending Is Flourishing
Peer-to-peer online lending is going to do amazing things for entrepreneurs in developing and developed countries alike.
It will provide a new source of funding to people previously seen as unbankable by banks.
For instance, an entrepreneur in India who needs a $100 loan while making only $2 a day is seen as unbankable by most banks. [...]
We Need Innovative Credit History Collection In Emerging Countries
I grew up thinking credit histories and credit scores were these evil things.
They seemed to do more harm than good.
Last summer, I quickly learned how wrong I was.
I spent my summer designing a survey for a microfinance organization in India. The work allowed me to travel southern India extensively meeting tons of entrepreneurs who on [...]
I pretend to have a real job, by which I mean I started my own company. 
