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NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Contributor.

Rob Katz

After co-founding NextBillion.net and spending 8-plus years working at the intersection of business and international development, Rob Katz is currently pursuing a MBA at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

 

Prior to Stanford, Rob was Acumen Fund’s Knowledge Manager, leading Acumen’s efforts to understand where markets work –and where they don’t – in terms of solving the problems of poverty. Most recently, he co-authored From Blueprint to Scale: The Case for Philanthropy in Impact Investing(Monitor Group and Acumen Fund, 2012.) In addition to writing reports, he was responsible for applied research and writing efforts across the firm; he also oversaw Acumen’s knowledge management systems.Rob joined Acumen Fund in 2008, managing online communications as well as knowledge before shifting full time into applied research work.

 

Before Acumen Fund, Rob worked with the Markets and Enterprise Program of the World Resources Institute, where he began his career researching, writing and speaking about “base of the pyramid” business approaches to poverty alleviation. At WRI, he co-founded www.NextBillion.net, a web site and blog about enterprise and development, and co-authored The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid (IFC and WRI, 2007).

 

Here at NextBillion, Rob is both a member of our Advisory Board and a contributor to the blog.

 

Rob earned his B.A. in Political Economy from Georgetown University.

 

Follow Rob on Twitter @robertkatz.

 

Articles by Rob Katz

  • Monday
    August 20
    2007

    Rob Katz

    Conference Report – Innovation for the Third Sector

    Guest blogger Ben Powell is Managing Partner of Agora Partnerships. Last week, he traveled to Sao Paolo, Brazil, to attend Innovation for the Third Sector: Sustainability and Social Impact, and filed this report. Read below for Ben’s observations of the rapidly growing Latin American social...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Tuesday
    August 14
    2007

    Rob Katz

    BOP Roundup – News and Stories of Note II

    A couple noteworthy happenings in the Base of the Pyramid universe... The Quarterly Journal of Economics has released Robert Jensen’s article, “The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector.” You may recall...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Thursday
    August 2
    2007

    Rob Katz

    BusinessWeek on BOP – A False Dichotomy?

    The latest issue of BusinessWeek, available online, features two articles about “base of the pyramid” (BOP) strategy and practice.? I’m always encouraged when BOP ideas and practitioners make it in the mainstream media, and these articles are no exception. I do wonder,...

    Categories
    Uncategorized
    Tags
    Base of the Pyramid

  • Wednesday
    August 1
    2007

    Rob Katz

    Venture Finance and Small Business Development in Central America – IPEG Meeting

    Reminder: This event will be held tomorrow, August 2, and is open to the public. Venture Finance and Small Business Development in Central America - International Private Enterprise Group August Meeting Featuring Ricardo TeranOn August 2, please join us for a discussion on micro venture...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Tuesday
    July 24
    2007

    Rob Katz

    Venture Finance and Small Business Development in Central America – IPEG Meeting

    Venture Finance and Small Business Development in Central America - International Private Enterprise Group August Meeting Featuring Ricardo TeranOn August 2, please join us for a discussion on micro venture capital and development from one of Latin America’s leading social entrepreneurs....

    Categories
    Education
    Tags
    academia

  • Thursday
    July 12
    2007

    Rob Katz

    Doing Business Meets Google Maps

    We’ve talked a lot about the excellent Doing Business reports that the World Bank Group produces every year.? A quick reminder: The Doing Business database provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement. The Doing Business indicators are comparable across 175...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Thursday
    July 12
    2007

    Rob Katz

    The Next 4 Billion – Innovations Article

    In response to some demand from readers and suggest-ers (not a word, I know), I’m posting the article that Al, Bill, Julia, Cory and I wrote in Innovations. Click “read more” for access to the PDF. Here are the first few paragraphs.Full review of the journal coming soon --...

    Categories
    Uncategorized

  • Wednesday
    July 11
    2007

    Rob Katz

    Business in Development Happy Hour – Washington DC

    You are invited to a special Networking Happy Hour to support entrepreneur-driven models of development.?? Come learn about leading organizations working to bring innovative, market-based solutions to global poverty.? Network with others committed to unleashing the potential of small...

    Categories
    Uncategorized
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