Resources

Creative Capitalism article by Bill Gates (Time Magazine, 2008)

Capitalism has improved the lives of billions of people — something that's easy to forget at a time of great economic uncertainty. But it has left out billions more. They have great needs, but they can't express those needs in ways that matter to markets. So they are stuck in poverty, suffer from preventable diseases and never have a chance to make the most of their lives. Governments and nonprofit groups have an irreplaceable role in helping them, but it will take too long if they try to do it alone. It is mainly corporations that have the skills to make technological innovations work for the poor. To make the most of those skills, we need a more creative capitalism: an attempt to stretch the reach of market forces so that more companies can benefit from doing work that makes more people better off. We need new ways to bring far more people into the system — capitalism — that has done so much good in the world.

Relevant Books:

• Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns by Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, and Michael B. Horn

• Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough.

• Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail by Paul Polak.

• White Mans' Burden by William Easterly.

• Common Wealth: Economics for a crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs.

• Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by CK Prahalad.

Interesting articles and good organizations I've run across recently:

• When Profit and Social Impact Unite (Drayton, HBR, March 2010)
• Stanford Social Innovation Review: Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition
• Top-10 Startup Financing Take-Aways (Xconomy Seattle, March 2009)
• Demo 2009 panel discussion on social entrepreneurship.
   
• Initiative for Global Development
• Endeavor

Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) Wikipedia article

Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is a general term referring to the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the field of socio-economic development. ICTs can be applied either in the direct sense, where their use directly benefits the disadvantaged population in some manner, or in an indirect sense, where the ICTs assist aid organizations or non-governmental organizations or governments in order to improve socio-economic conditions. In many impoverished regions of the world, legislative and political measures are required to facilitate or enable application of ICTs, especially with respect to monopolistic communications structures and censorship laws.

Microsoft Unlimited Potential web site

Thirty years ago, Microsoft began with a dream of a computer on every desk and in every home. Today, for the more than 1 billion people we’ve reached, life has changed profoundly. Information is available instantaneously. Personal and professional connections are made easily. Products and services are sold conveniently. Progress is achieved more readily. But for more than 5 billion people, the opportunity to learn, connect, create, and succeed remains elusive.