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

  • Rob Katz

    Social Entrepreneurs Summit

    Want to keep track of what’s going on in Switzerland this week?? Many will undoubtedly be following the glitzy World Economic Forum, but allow me to suggest an alternate: the Social Entrepreneurs Summit.? Also sponsored by the Schwab Foundation and held concurrently with the Forum, the...

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  • Rob Katz

    Prodem Sold to Venezuela Under a Cloud of Intrigue, Irony

    Prodem, the 3rd largest microbank in Bolivia and a long-time BOP success story known for its home-grown smart ATMs, now finds itself at the center of a political-economic power struggle between Bolivia and Venezuela.? Yes, the socialist/populist governments of Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez are...

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  • Rob Katz

    Weekend Reading: M-Banking, Remittances, Philanthropreneurs

    Update: I just saw this week’s edition of BusinessWeek, where the cover story is entitled? Beyond The Green Corporation.? Worth reading, although I’ll warn you not to expect anything earth-shattering.? It’s also worth taking a look at some of the associated articles...enjoy.With...

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  • Rob Katz

    International Private Enterprise Group – DC – January Meeting

    Remember IPEG (International Private Enterprise Group)? We’ve written about it in the past, and have mentioned the nascent DC chapter as well. A quick reminder: the group aims to create an opportunity for professionals interested in the intersection between business and development to...

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  • Rob Katz

    Global Philanthropy Forum 2007 – Leveraging Markets and Entrepreneurship

    Momentum continues to build for business’ role in development.? The venerable Global Philanthropy Forum will hold its annual, invitation-only conference from April 11 to 13 of this year.? The conference’s title?? Financing Social Change: Leveraging Markets and Entrepreneurship.?...

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  • Rob Katz

    Book and Blog Reviews – To Read and Not To Read

    For many suburbanites, success is sometimes measured by one’s ability to keep up with the Joneses.? For me, the clich? changes only slightly ? to keeping up with the Christines.? My friend and colleague Christine Bowers of the World Bank’s Private Sector Development Blog has an...

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  • Rob Katz

    BOP Strategy in Action – Lessons from Hutchinson-Essar

    An article in last Friday?s International Herald Tribune details the business strategy behind frenzied takeover bids for Indian mobile phone company Hutchinson-Essar by Vodafone, Reliance, Essar, and others.? Further into the article, writer Anand Giridharadas describes the BOP strategies of...

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  • Rob Katz

    The Economic Lives of the Poor

    Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both of MIT?s Poverty Action Lab, published a working paper back in October 2006 called The Economic Lives of the Poor. I am not usually one to urge an economics paper on anyone, but I will break from tradition here. Print this paper, take it home this...

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