Authored by: Rob Katz

We are glad to welcome the newest member of the NextBillion.net team, Nathan Wyeth.  Nathan will support the operations of NextBillion.net, specifically its news, research, and jobs sections. 

He combines an academic background in international development with experience in environmental and energy policymaking.  When not working on NextBillion, he supports the creation and implementation of impact investing and patient capital strategies on behalf of philanthropic clients operating in the U.S., China, and Israel.

Nathan has previously managed public health economics research in Tamil Nadu, India and worked with the Clinton Foundation and the House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  Prior to this he coordinated national and international advocacy campaigns on renewable energy, trade policy, and international financial institutions with the Sierra Club, and currently serves on the Sierra Club's Board of Directors.  He has previously blogged on Grist.org and ItsGettingHotinHere.org. 

He grew up in Washington, DC and received a B.A. in Development Studies from Brown University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the political economy of rural electrification in India and strategies to finance renewable energy for electrification.  Nathan is currently based in San Francisco, CA and gets out to enjoy the mountains of California as frequently as possible.

Welcome, Nathan!

Authored by: Rob Katz

On Tuesday, D.Light Design released its newest product, the Kiran.  Dubbed by its staff the "$10 Kerosene Killer" the Kiran is the world's most affordable quality solar lamp.  According to the company's web site, "It is a safer and brighter alternative to the kerosene lantern, and is designed to provide 360-degree lighting for the home or workplace."

Quite frankly, this little lamp is a big deal.  There are more than 1 million deaths every year attributed to kerosene lamps; 62% of the people who die are under the age of fourteen, according to the World Health Organization.  If that weren't enough, kerosene lamps are responsible for at least 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.  Every D.Light sold - every non-kerosene lamp sold, for that matter - eliminates one or more kerosene lamp, fighting the scourge of kerosene.

The Kiran is not just a kerosene killer; it is also a livelihood-enhancer.  According to the UNDP, the ability to engage in nighttime activities increases the average poor family's income by up to 30 percent.

Of course, solar-powered LED lamps have not been the most affordable products in the past.  D.Light's other products sell for between $15 and $30 dollars, depending on features (a little more or a little less, depending on exchange rates).  Cosmos Ignite's MightyLight costs around $20; ToughStuff costs around $15.

A cost reduction to $10 is a big deal.  Lower-income customers can buy the light, with financing (and more often, without). 

The Kiran is not just lower-cost - it is designed to be extremely user-friendly and flexible. It has no detachable parts, including an integrated solar panel that makes recharging simple and easy. The product shape, portability, and handle with 9 different settings give the customer many options for use. The Kiran can be carried, hung from the wall or ceiling, or placed on any surface to effectively illuminate the surrounding area.

The health, environmental and economic impacts of improved lighting are known.  With that in mind, D.Light has just raised the game again.  They have put the kerosene lamp on notice - sometime soon, these solar power LEDs, along with grid extensions, micro grids and other electrification schemes - are going to put dirty, inefficient kerosene out of business.  Watch out, kerosene - a killer's on the loose.

Authored by: Rob Katz

Acumen Fund is excited to announce that the application process for the 2010-2011 Class of Acumen Fund Fellows is now open!  (Full disclosure: I work at Acumen Fund and the organization is one of the NextBillion's Founding Sponsors.)

Detailed information about the program and application the process, as well as the bios of current and past fellows, can be found on our website. To apply, or to send more information to others you know who might be interested, please click here. Applications will be accepted online until 11:59pm EST on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

What does it take to be a Fellow? We are looking for dedicated individuals with the practical skills, the creativity, the empathy and the leadership potential to affect change by leveraging market-based solutions to create social impact. Acumen Fund Fellows are drawn from a pool of talented, passionate people from all geographies, sectors, backgrounds and ethnicities.

Since graduating its first class of Fellows in 2007, the Fellows Program has continued to grow and expand, using the experiences of each class to continue building a unique training curriculum specifically focused on leadership and social enterprise. Fellows Alumni have called the program a life-changing experience, and one that allowed them to build critical business skills and a better understanding of the challenges involved in serving low-income consumers around the world.

We are also excited to welcome our new Class of 2009-2010 Fellows to New York. Over the coming weeks the 2010 Fellows will be training and actively preparing to support Acumen Fund investments. The Fellows have committed to sharing their experiences both from New York and on the ground, so expect to see frequent posts from them here on the blog.

If you know exceptional individuals who should be part of our 2010-2011 class, we hope you will encourage them to apply. Please share this announcement throughout your networks so that we reach the strongest and most diverse candidate pool.

Authored by: Rob Katz

This past weekend, 100+ attendees convened in Ann Arbor, Michigan for "Creating a Shared Roadmap: Collaboratively Advancing the Base of the Pyramid Community."  Despite the tortured title - one only an academic could love! - the 3-day event was incredibly vibrant and merits a quick report-out here on NextBillion.

We went to Michigan to work with 10 co-authors, who are working on a volume marking the 10-year anniversary of the original "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" white paper (later published by strategy+business, then turned into a book by CK Prahalad).  Unfortunately, CK could not join us for the weekend, but many BoP-sector heavyweights were in attendance - Stu Hart, Al Hammond, Ted London, Mark Milstein - the list is long, so I'll simply point you to the authors' and the attendees' list and you can judge for yourself.  Personally, it was a great group to be part of, and the discussions lived up to my pre-conference expectations (high).

The title of this post is a quote from Ted London, who gave a great conference-opening keynote address.  While discussing how to build better ventures with the base of the pyramid - and measure their impact - he adroitly mixed academic theory and real-world practice.  In doing so, he reminded the audience that, at the end of the day, we are all working with real low-income communities. 

To do this successfully - whether as a funder, implementer or advisor - Ted urged us all to "be patient, stay longer and come back".  After all, many low-income communities have seen this all before - well-meaning businessmen, governments and non-profits seeking to work with and for them.  Why should they trust those of us espousing market-based approaches to poverty alleviation?  They shouldn't - and we as a sector must earn that trust.  Kudos to Ted for not forgetting the key point here - and starting the conference off on the right foot.

I've been asked by the conference organizers not to delve too deeply into the actual content discussions over the weekend, as we came together to work on a book (stay tuned for its publication in 2010!) and we're trying to respect the publisher.  You'll have to take my word that it was fantastic to have a mix of academics, practitioners, NGOs, funders, governments, multilaterals and large companies talking about where we've been since the original "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" white paper was released - and where we're going from here.

I heard more this weekend about design, local companies, failure (not often discussed in polite BoP circles!), scale (and lack thereof), listening and trust than I have at any other BoP-focused meeting I've attended.  I have high hopes that the forthcoming book will be a worthy companion to The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid and Capitalism at the Crossroads (and hopefully one that builds on The Next 4 Billion as well).

In addition to the planned conference activities, I managed to grab an hour with Aneel Karnani, a noted critic of BoP theory.  We had a very productive discussion around the role of employment (central to poverty alleviation, by anyone's measure) and the importance of discussing failure within the growing BoP community.  I couldn't agree more, and am happy to report that Aneel will be publishing a new paper soon, which we'll be sure to review here on-site.

Thanks again to the organizers - Ted London and Stu Hart, the conference co-chairs in particular - and to the fine people at Zingerman's Deli for keeping me well-fed.  Hope I'll see the maize and blue hues of Ann Arbor again soon! 

Authored by: Rob Katz

For those interested in the base of the pyramid (BoP) space, it will be a busy fall as many conferences and events are upcoming.  I've just updated the Take Action page here at NextBillion, but in case you are not in the habit of checking it regularly, here's a rundown of the events coming up, along with some commentary.

Disclaimer: This doesn't claim to be a comprehensive list.  If you know of an event with a strong BoP focus that isn't listed here, please e-mail me and we'll add it up.  Thanks!

1. Africa Social Enterprise Forum (AESF). September 26, 2009, New York, NY.
   
   • "Bringing together aspiring and accomplished social entrepreneurs with an African interest"  This is a new event for 2009, and it should be an interesting one, with funders like Rockefeller Foundation as well as intermediaries such as Endeavor both in attendance.
     
2. Legatum Center Conference, MIT.  October 2, 2009, Cambridge, MA.
   
   • The 2008 edition featured an historic panel of 5 Nobel laureate economists; the 2009 conference will focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology and feature keynote speakers like Tim Berners-Lee and Desh Deshpande.
3. BoP 2009 Conference. October 1-3, 2009, Ann Arbor, MI.
   
   • This invitation-only event will bring together approximately 300 BoP academicians and practitioners.  The meeting's outcome will be an edited volume written by many of the so-called "founders of the BoP movement" including CK Prahalad, Stuart Hart and Al Hammond.
4. Columbia Social Enterprise Conference. October 9, 2009, New York, NY.
   
   • NextBillion is a conference sponsor of this year's Columbia Social Enterprise conference, and we will be providing blog coverage throughout.  Speakers include Craig Barrett (ex-CEO of Intel) and Nancy Barry (former president of Women's World Banking).
5. Opportunity Collaboration. October 17-20, 2009, Ixtapa, Mexico.
   
   • This deep-dive event is a BoP thinker retreat.  NextBillion staff won't be attending but it does look interesting.
6. Pop!Tech 2009. October 21-24, Camden, ME.
   
   • Pop!Tech's 2009 speakers aren't all BoP experts, per se, but Esther Duflo from MIT's Poverty Action Lab will be on stage, and more importantly, the Social Innovation Fellows will again represent a suite of market-based approaches to poverty alleviation.  Can't beat coastal Maine in October, either!
7. 2009 Economic Self-Reliance Conference. November 5-6, Provo, UT.
   
   • The ESR conference will honor Benetech's Jim Fruchterman as the social entrepreneur of the year; you'll no doubt get a strong dose of franchising expertise from BYU-based Jason Fairbourne and other experts.
8. Net Impact Conference, Cornell University.  November 13-14, Ithaca, NY.
   
   • The pre-eminent social/environmental gathering for business school students in the US, Net Impact's 2009 conference will be held at Cornell this year.  Be sure to visit the Moosewood Cafe if you make the trip!
     
9. Impact of Base of the Pyramid Ventures. November 16-18, 2009, Delft, the Netherlands.
   
   • Focus is on the following: How to define, measure, and optimize towards enduring value creation of BoP ventures?

If you know of other events, or will be attending one of these conferences, please leave a comment below to let the NextBillion community know.

Authored by: Rob Katz

A great opportunity for a sub-set of the "base of the pyramid" community - the inventors and innovators - just came across my desk, and I wanted to let folks know.

That's right, the annual Lemelson-MIT awards are taking nominations.  There are three awards - $500K, $100K and $30K.  More details:

The Lemelson-MIT Awards honor both established and rising inventors for their ingenuity, creativity and contribution to invention and innovation. The awards recognize the profound impact that inventors can have on economic and social well-being.

The awards include the following:

• The $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize honors outstanding mid-career inventors dedicated to improving our world through technological invention and innovation.
• The $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability recognizes and supports inventors working to safeguard the well-being of our communities and planet.
• The $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize honors promising young inventors studying at MIT.

The Lemelson-MIT Program funds three additional student prizes to recognize students who demonstrate remarkable inventiveness: $30,000 Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, $30,000 Lemelson-Illinois Student Prize at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and $30,000 Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize at the California Institute of Technology. Each student prize is administered by its respective school.

Bestowed annually, the Lemelson-MIT Awards were first presented in 1995. They are part of a comprehensive program administered by the Lemelson-MIT Program and established by the Lemelson Foundation to raise the stature of inventors and to inspire invention among young people. Find out about previous recipients at the Winners Circle.

Authored by: Rob Katz

Day 1 of SoCap09, and I was already conflicted.  Sonal Shah's keynote address had ended and there I stood as 800 folks milled about, trying to decide: which of these awesome panels should I choose - and, by association, which will I have to miss?  Fortunately for me, I knew Shital would attend the fantastic Ag Finance panel, while Jocelyn was headed over to learn about Disruptive Innovation.  So I took off for SME Finance in Developing Countries...and I'm glad I did.

The panel featured ANDE's Randall Kempner, Lemelson's Julia Novy-Hildesley, CGD's John Simon and IFC's Dan Runde as moderator.  Dan did a great job setting the stage, noting that 97% of all emerging markets jobs are created by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - a staggering statistic.  With this in mind, the IFC has a SME Venture Fund (PDF) up and running for 8 key countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan).  They also support the Grassroots Business Fund (which spun out of the IFC) and publish the SME Toolkit, which has 4 million visitors every year.  It's good to see the big boys like IFC focusing on small and medium enterprises - a welcome change from the multilaterals' focus on big, often extractive, industries.

If you think the IFC is doing a lot to support SMEs, you should check out ANDE - the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs.  Long-time NextBillion readers have heard this before - ANDE supports the ecosystem around small and medium enterprise development, from funders to intermediaries to partners/experts and everyone in between.  Randall Kempner, ANDE's Executive Director, has had a busy year, during which he's distilled 3 common challenges faced by most SMEs serving the poor in emerging markets:

1. Human capital - having the right staff, with the best skills and the most up-to-date information, is make-or-break.  You can have a great business model, but if you can't execute on it, you're wasting your time.
2. Knowledge capital - specifically, being able to navigate the policy landscape and gain market access where subsidies, monopolists and corrupt local officials often stand in your way.
3. Money - of course! But SMEs in developing countries face special challenges, including artificially high interest rates (due to an overly cautious risk perception by most local banks) and the inability to access loans at all, most of the time (thanks to unrealistic collateral requirements.)

I'll be interested in see how Randall, through ANDE, helps his members tackle these problems as we transition into 2010.

Julia Novy-Hildesley, meanwhile, sits in a similar but different seat - she runs the Lemelson Foundation, which has committed more than $140M to education, innovation and invention.  Where does that intersect social enterprise and the base of the pyramid, you might ask?  Answer: at the start-up phase.  Lemelson sponsors the $500K Lemelson-MIT prize and also supports Ashoka and KickStart, both of whom are using innovation and invention to improve the lives of those living at the BoP.

During her remarks, Julia noted that joblessness leads to a lack of hope, and a lack of opportunity - so Lemelson funds startups, with the idea that innovation and invention beget jobs.  In addition to Ashoka and KickStart, they've funded SELCO, first with a grant, then a loan guarantee, and finally with an equity investment.  This flexibility and patient approach allows Lemelson to support an enterprise from its early stages (the grant to Selco was for R&D) to pre-profitability (loan guarantee) to growth (equity).  They've also taken 1st loss positions in Calvert Foundation and D.Light Design.  It's good to see a foundation use its philanthropic power to add flexibility and patience to a capital market that often lacks those two key characteristics.

The final speaker was John Simon, currently a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development but formerly the Executive VP at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.  While at OPIC, John worked to finance SMEs in conflict and post-conflict areas - Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Liberia, etc.  Talk about a tough business environment - but he offered some important lessons that are applicable to conflict and non-conflict BoP markets.

First, business development services - technical assistance to the inside-the-beltway crowd - is paramount.  In Liberia, for example, OPIC facilitated funding for 8 promising enterprises.  7 of the 8 failed within a year.  A later round of investment, coupled with business mentoring and operational advice, saw 7 of 8 companies succeed.  In short: the money alone won't cut it.

Second, when investing in SMEs in developing countries, it's key to understand your exit options from the start.  Unlike in developed markets, there aren't as many oppotunities for public offerings - so you're looking at conversion options, promoter buy-back, or sale to a private holder.  Knowing the potential exit market when you first invest is key, according to Simon.

Overall, the panel was an important line in the sand, demonstrating that SME finance in developing countries IS possible, and that the sector is beginning to distill some how-to's (and how-not-to's) as it grows.  I'm glad I went - and I'm glad I managed to get there early - the room was packed.  Among the audience, I noticed ISFC's David Kyle, Microvest's Gil Crawford, UNDP's Sabha Sobhani, Ushahidi's Erik Hersman, Salesforce's Steve Wright and many, many more.

Authored by: Rob Katz

As if on queue - and on the heels of SoCap09 - Pop!Tech, a leading ideas summit and social innovation network, today announces its 2009 class of Social Innovation Fellows.  This will be the second class of Fellows - last year the cohort included innovators ranging from Mobile Metrix to Pharmasecure to Por Fin, Nuestra Casa to Ushahidi to Frontline:SMS and of course Husk Power Systems, perhaps the crown jewel of the class after it won a $250K business plan competition this summer.

The 2009 Fellows indeed have large shoes to fill.  Here is a snapshot of some of the BoP-oriented Fellows:

Aviva Presser Aiden and Hugo Van Vuuren - Lebônê Solutions, Inc.

(Cambridge, MA and South Africa)

Aviva and Hugo co-founded Lebônê in 2007 to help meet the need for off-grid energy and lighting in the developing world. Using microbial fuel cells sold by local entrepreneurs, Lebônê's technology generates electricity from soil microbes to power LED lights, cell phones, radios and other devices. By extracting energy and light from dirt, Lebônê is providing a tool that improves results for rural health workers, students, small businesses, farmers and families. www.lebone.org

Jason Aramburu - re:char

(New York, NY)

Jason launched re:char in 2005 to develop low-cost technologies that fight climate change while improving the quality of degraded soils. re:char's systems convert agricultural waste into renewable fuel and into biochar, preventing the emission of CO2 via decomposition. The biochar is used to improve soil on farms, locking away emissions for thousands of years. By producing energy, sequestering atmospheric carbon and improving soil quality, re:char brings the promise of distributed, carbon-negative energy to underserved communities worldwide. www.re-char.com

Derek Lomas - Playpower Foundation

(San Diego, CA)

The Playpower Foundation was created in 2008 to foster development of affordable, effective and fun learning games for under-privileged children around the world. Motivated by the availability of ultra-low-cost computers, Playpower has cultivated a global network of developers, designers, academics, NGOs and businesses to participate in the research, development and distribution of learning games that will help bring education to children in Bottom-of-the-Pyramid settings. www.playpower.org

Josh Nesbit - FrontlineSMS:Medic

(Stanford, CA)

Having pioneered the use of mobile phones for healthcare in a remote region of Malawi, Josh co-founded FrontlineSMS:Medic to bring these innovations to the rest of the world. The model features a central clinic laptop running FrontlineSMS software, enabling community health workers to use mobile phones to coordinate patient care. Pushing the technology to enable better patient management, electronic medical records via mobile phone, cheap mobile diagnostics and mapping of health services, the FrontlineSMS:Medic team is proving that text messages can help save lives. medic.frontlinesms.com

Hayat Sindi - Diagnostics For All

(Cambridge, MA and Saudi Arabia)

Diagnostics For All is creating point-of-care diagnostic devices microfabricated in paper, a game-changing technology for delivering low-cost medical care in the developing world. Reliable, safe and easy to use, these devices allow healthcare workers to diagnose and monitor treatment for the 60% of people living beyond the reach of urban hospitals and medical infrastructures. In addition to extending the reach of high-quality healthcare through her work with nanotechnology and Diagnostics For All, Hayat is a powerful advocate for science education and careers for women in the Middle East. www.dfadx.org

We may have more from Pop!Tech coming in October.  Stay tuned for details...

Authored by: Rob Katz

The BoP Learning Laboratory has announced details of its 2009 BoP Narrative Competition.  See below for details.

The 2009 BoP Narrative Competition has been created to help identify cutting-edge experiences of business innovation in underserved or marginalized communities.

Winning submissions must clearly articulate a business challenge that an organization working in low-income communities is striving to overcome, in addition to the resulting business model or initiative. Experiences and business models may be successful or unsuccessful, provided the challenge and solution-attempt is elaborated upon.

Organizations highlighted may be either non-profit or for-profit enterprises. Initiatives highlighted should illustrate a unique approach to poverty alleviation through an innovative product, service, technology, or business model.

This competition is looking for short essays illustrating BoP enterprises that meet the following three criteria:

1. They are based on private-sector business models that are locally transformational. In other words, the business creates mutual value, such as capacity building and wealth creation, for both the community and the enterprise. Implicit in this is the expectation that the business will be partner-intensive in an effort to achieve the greatest success.

2. A strong element of the Triple Bottom Line must be embedded in the business strategy - consideration of the environmental, societal, and economic impacts of the business. There must be motivation displayed to improve the quality of life for the community while simultaneously being sensitive to normative culture. Simply creating economic activity without regard for the local environment, community, or cultural impact is not in the vein of a BoP Enterprise.

3. There must exist the potential and an aspiration for scale and replication. The inability to grow and expand a business fails to meet the objective of transforming the local society and economy.

Narrative Guidelines:

• 500-1000 words
• Written in English
• Microsoft Word or Text format
• Double-spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font
• Joint authorship is permitted
• Each co-author's personal information must be submitted with the narrative
• More than one submission is permitted per person

A separate cover page or first page must be created that includes the following

• Narrative title. The narrative title must be included at the top of each subsequent page.
• Author's name(s). References to the author(s) must not appear anywhere in the narrative text or footnotes.
• Author's contact information including email address(es).
• Clearly indicate whether it is a Developing Country Business or Developed Country Business.
• Footnoted references for facts or statistics
• Illustrations or photos are optional and must be the property of the author(s)
• All essays must be the original work of the author(s). No previously published material will be accepted. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification.
• Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Eligibility: Open to all - professionals and students. No geographic restrictions. This competition may be of particular interest to students of business, development, journalism and the social sciences working in unique situations for the summer or exposed to unique experiences in economically challenged areas of the world.

Awards: Submissions will be divided into two categories, Developing Country Businesses and Developed Country Businesses. Winners will be announced on or about February 1, 2010. The winners will be asked to submit a short biography and photo to be used in publicity. The award will be presented to the author(s). We reserve the right not to award all categories in the event that the quality of submissions inadequate.

Developing Country Businesses - Sponsored by the Office of Microenterprise Development in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade, USAID; and International Finance Corporation (IFC)

1st Place

• $4000 USD
• Submission published on the BoP Knowledge Network website
• Exclusive interview and feature on www.NextBillion.net (to be confirmed)
• Leading participant in USAID's Speaker's Corner (dates to be determined)

2nd Place

• $2000 USD
• Submission published on the BoP Knowledge Network website
• Exclusive interview and feature on www.NextBillion.net (to be confirmed)
• Leading participant in USAID's Speaker's Corner (dates to be determined)

3rd Place

• $1000 USD
• Submission published on the BoP Knowledge Network website
• Exclusive interview and feature on www.NextBillion.net (to be confirmed)
• Leading participant in USAID's Speaker's Corner (dates to be determined)

Developed Country Businesses
Special Mention

• $500 USD
• Submission published on the BoP Knowledge Network website
• Exclusive interview and feature on www.NextBillion.net (to be confirmed)

Judging: Submissions will be reviewed though a double blind process. Judges will be looking at the following criteria when reviewing the submissions: quality of the writing (grammatically correct, logical, etc.); whether or not it is an innovative business model; is it economically viable; and does it take into consideration the social and/or environmental impact of the business; and whether or not it is scalable/replicable in other regions.

Deadline: Midnight, October 11, 2009.

Submission: Submissions are to be submitted online at www.bopnetwork.org. If access to the internet is unavailable submissions can be mailed and must be post marked no later than October 11, 2009. Mail to:

BoP Narrative Competition
Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise
Cornell University
142 Sage Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853

Inquiries: Please direct inquiries to bop@johnson.cornell.edu. The subject line should read "BoP Narrative Competition Inquiry."

Authored by: Rob Katz

The NextBillion.net team is proud to announce the addition of our newest member: Staff Writer Phil LaRocco.

Phil LaRocco is the founder of E+Co, the leading practitioner of the enterprise-centered model of investing in energy businesses in developing countries. Until his retirement in April 2009, LaRocco also served as E+Co's Executive Director and CEO.

Since 1998, E+Co has invested in more than one hundred and fifty enterprises and mobilized more than $152 million of capital. These enterprises provide modern energy to 3.4 million people; save 462,000 tons of firewood and charcoal; displace $18 million of fossil fuel; and offset 13.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the life of E+Co's investments.

E+Co, a not-for-profit, public purpose investment company, has offices in Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, the Netherlands, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.

LaRocco has over thirty years of international experience. Until 1990 he served as the Director of World Trade and Economic Development for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with responsibility for the World Trade Center (NY), a network of trade development offices and a portfolio of industrial development and waste-to-energy projects. He was awarded the Port Authority's Distinguished Service Medal in 1990.

Phil focuses on strategic planning, financing structures and the creation of practical, hands-on training materials for entrepreneurs, financial professionals, development practitioners and policy makers. More than 800 entrepreneurs in over thirty developing countries have been trained through the efforts of E+Co and its partner organizations.

LaRocco's key qualifications and areas of expertise are the creation of innovative financial mechanisms; energy finance and analysis; SME business development and planning; public-private partnerships; capacity building for entrepreneurs; development of tools and training materials as well as teaching and training trainers; and global-regional energy analysis.

Welcome, Phil!