I’ve always found the global development system frustrating. It was the 1980’s when it first got my attention, with suffering and extreme poverty dominating my daily news feed. The Ethiopian famine in 1985 was the turning point, forcing me to seriously question why a sector awash with money and resources could have so little visible impact (and … Continue reading One last throw of the dice.
Tag: innovation
Time for a ‘slow innovation’ movement?
Dear fellas. I can’t believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they’re everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry Brooks – quoted in the Shawshank Redemption Today everyone seems to be in such a rush. From the … Continue reading Time for a ‘slow innovation’ movement?
Farming or scratching? An innovation dilemma.
A basketball referee almost gets lynched at a match in Brazil when his pea whistle breaks at a crucial point in a game. A real estate agent drops hot coffee over himself after the serviette wrapped around the cup by the barista slips off while he’s driving. And a young man going bald who decides … Continue reading Farming or scratching? An innovation dilemma.
New idea? Or old idea done better?
Last week I received my yearly mailing of Ashoka’s inspiring ‘Leading Social Entrepreneurs’ publication. It’s always fascinating flicking through the work and lives of some quite extraordinary individuals helping make their part of the world a better place. At the end, it struck me how many solutions there were between the covers of the publication, and how many … Continue reading New idea? Or old idea done better?
The case of We Care Solar and our failure to spot winners
“The first ever US$1 million UN-DESA Energy Grant has been awarded to We Care Solar, a non-profit organisation, to enhance and expand the use of its ‘Solar Suitcase’. By making solar power simple, accessible and affordable, this device allows for the provision of electricity for medical procedures during childbirth in many developing countries, helping to … Continue reading The case of We Care Solar and our failure to spot winners
ICT4D students: The world is your classroom
It seems courses in business and innovation are getting a hard time these days. First, Peter Jones, a 49-year-old serial entrepreneur in the UK, said he believed that hands-on experience was far more valuable to potential business leaders than several years studying theory in a lecture theatre. Then we had the likes of Peter Thiel, Scott Cook and … Continue reading ICT4D students: The world is your classroom
Global development R&D: Maintaining a balance
My first brush with technology-for-development, almost twenty years ago, wasn’t on the potential of the Internet, or how mobile phones were going to change, well, everything. To be honest, neither were really on the development radar in any meaningful way back then. It’s almost funny to imagine a time when that was the case. No, … Continue reading Global development R&D: Maintaining a balance
Book Review
The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator Ken Banks (ed), London Publishing Partnership, 2013, 232 pages Review by the Society of Business Economists “Any book with a foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and comments from the World Economic Forum, the BBC and National Geographic is surely one to take notice of, and this book still exceeded … Continue reading Book Review
Innovation out of necessity is alive and well
(This article first appeared on the Virgin website as part of their special feature on innovation and disruption. The original post can be read here). While much of the West debates the pros, cons, merits and current state of technological innovation, innovators in the developing world just get on with it. And they’ve never been … Continue reading Innovation out of necessity is alive and well
Reluctant innovators are go!
It’s been a busy few months as our new book – “The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator” – has been taking shape. We’ve been finalising chapter contributions, working on the introduction, sorting out cover and chapter designs, doing last minute copy-editing, building a new website, keeping Kickstarter supporters up-to-date, and pulling in book endorsements. We … Continue reading Reluctant innovators are go!
Means of Exchange: Enabling more resilient economies
“Citizen movements are compelling reforms that were unimaginable only a short time ago. Solutions to today’s challenges involve a complex mix of actors that include governments, nonprofits, foundations, civil society and the business sector in major new ways” – Rockefeller Foundation This year, the Rockefeller Foundation will be one hundred years old. As part of … Continue reading Means of Exchange: Enabling more resilient economies
Time to meet the real M-PESA?
m-Pesa? m-PESA? mPESA? MPESA? mpesa? Putting the actual spelling to one side for a moment, there can be few more talked about yet least understood mobile services than M-PESA (yes, that’s how you’re supposed to spell it. I think). Misunderstanding, misinformation and, in some cases urban myths abound – everything from its roots and implementation … Continue reading Time to meet the real M-PESA?
An inconvenient truth?
Exactly ten years ago this month I was preparing for my first ever piece of work in mobile, two years of work which would lead to the development of an innovative conservation service in 2003 – wildlive! – and the release of one of the earliest reports [PDF] on the application of mobile technology in … Continue reading An inconvenient truth?
The innovation conundrum
When I started out trying to understand the complexities of international development well over 15 years ago, one thing struck me. The trick, I was often told, to increase chances of funding was to apply a liberal sprinkling of the words gender, scalable or sustainable into any project proposal. Donors apparently liked those words, however … Continue reading The innovation conundrum
Ideas vs. execution: A personal history
“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea” – Hindu Siddharta, Founder of Buddhism (563-483 B.C) Like many people I meet on my travels, I’m never short of ideas. Short of good ones, perhaps, but never plain old ideas. As everyone knows, … Continue reading Ideas vs. execution: A personal history