For anyone looking to start a business overseas, this is a HUGE resource. The report ranks countries across a variety of factors in order to evaluate the “ease of doing business”. Getting licenses, hiring employees, getting credit, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts are just a handful of the evaluated categories.
Singapore currently ranks as the “easiest” place to do business, with the Democratic Republic of Congo bringing up the rear. Egypt was the greatest reformer, making the most changes to ease the flow of business in their country.

You can read an overview of the 2008 report here (PDF link) and can also download a full version of the report off the Doing Business website.

Simpsons win over Kenyan carvers

A group of carvers in western Kenya are looking forward to the first Simpsons movie hitting big screens around the world, even though they are unlikely to see it.

Although most of them in the remote village of Tabaka in Kisii have never watched the animated TV show, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have changed their lives and the new film should see demand for their work soar they hope.

Soapstone carving is a traditional craft passed down from generation to generation, and the Abagusii tribe is renowned for their carving prowess.

So when Twentieth Century Fox designated the Tabaka soapstone carvings as official Simpsons merchandise in July 2006, their lives improved overnight.

The Tabaka Classic Carvers are licensed to produce 12 models of the show’s characters, and they are keen to expand their portfolio.

Pauline Kemunto and her husband work with the Simpsons team in Tabaka; he carves the figures and she smoothes the soapstone afterwards

“I don’t know who they are,” she says about the dysfunctional cartoon family.

“But I like them because I earn from them.”

via BBC News

- WiFi equipped buses are bringing the Internet to remote Indian villages.

- Fast Company does some Q&A with C.K. Prahalad, author of “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”.

- Foreign Policy ranks the 60 most vulnerable nations. Not surprisingly, Sudan tops the list.

If you are curious as to how far we still have to go in Sub-Saharan Africa, you can read the report on the UN website for the MDGs.

What you see above is the daily budget for over a billion people across the developing world.

(I will refrain from inserting a guilt inducing comparison between that dollar and the amount we spend on coffee/music/junk/etc… We all know we over-consume)

Tim Harford, writing for Slate.com, gives us insight into the lives of these people living in extreme poverty and how they make purchasing decisions. Even though these individuals have such limited resources, they are still “consumers” and think through their purchases in the same framework as those in the developed world.

The very poor even seem to have some consumer power. For example, in the countries where free public schools are especially bad, some parents scrape together the resources to send the children to private schools. The teachers may be largely unskilled themselves, but at least they show up.

The same is true for health care. A pair of World Bank economists, Jishnu Das and Jeffrey Hammer, examined the quality of public and private health care in Delhi, India. They found that while publicly employed doctors tended to be far better qualified than the private doctors, the private doctors tried much harder, spending more time, asking more questions, and examining patients more carefully. Competition works even for the poor.

In the conclusion to the article, Harford talks about the roll entrepreneurship plays in eradicating poverty. Microcredit and business coaching play a huge role in helping these individuals scale their meager business and increase the economic status of both their families and surrounding area.

Business has, and will continue to, play major part in fight to end poverty. There is truly a “fortune at the bottom of the pyramid“.
The Body of Christ already has the resources necessary to make a serious difference in the developing world by harnessing the power of business. The resources are sitting, latently, in the pews each Sunday.

We need to start thinking strategically about mobilizing the gifted individuals in the church towards this end.

Acts 4:14-21 (Peter speaking before the Council after healing a lame beggar)

But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

When a business is set up properly it will bring economic prosperity to the local community. New jobs are created. New goods or services are provided. It brings a real benefit to all who are involved.

If the government hears that the owners of the company follow Jesus, they may get suspicious. But if this company is making a tangible economic and social impact in the local community, the government will be less likely to force the owners to leave the country. Like the Jewish leaders at the council, they will be faced with upsetting a community that sees this business as strong asset to the local economy.

Compare that to a business that is set up as a front to allow entrance to a restricted access country. This type of pseudo-company brings no real, tangible benefit to the community. There is nothing in place that would cause the government think twice about kicking the workers out of the country.

When a Business is set up to bring economic prosperity while displaying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it becomes a powerful tool for fulfilling the Great Commission.

Fast forward to the 21st century and the problem of slavery is still with us. It may not be as blatant as a ship full of people in chains or a slave auction at the town square, but it is just as serious and even more pervasive than it was two centuries ago.
A recent article in Foreign Affairs sheds light on just how extensive this new global slave trade has become. The article states that “more people are being trafficked across borders against their will now than at any point in the past.” Here are some frightening statistics from the article:

• 80 percent of today’s slaves on the global market
• Up to 50 percent are under the age of 18
• Individuals are being trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries
• 43 percent of “slaves” in the global market are used for sex
• 32 percent are forced into other forms of unpaid labor
• The remaining percent are forced into a combination of the two
• The UN estimates that human traffickers earn around $10 billion per year

Many of the most heinous acts of injustice are fueled by a lack of economic prosperity. Just look at the young girls that are sold into sexual slavery across may parts of Asia. Parents in these areas are so desperate that they are willing to send their own flesh and blood into a lifetime of sexual abuse for just a handful of dollars.

Watch this video from an episode of Anderson Cooper 360. In this clip the show follows NY Times reporter Nicholas Kristof as he investigates the sex trade in Cambodia. Four years prior to this video, Kristof was in Cambodia and paid $200 to a brothel to purchase the freedom of one of the girls who was held their. In the video, Kristof returns to Cambodia to check up on this girl. Sadly, she had returned to her former life to feed the drug addiction she had picked up during her previous time in the brothel.

While Kristof’s motives were pure, simply buying a girls freedom from one of these brothels is not a solution. It is really no surprise that she returned to her former ways. This is where Business as Missions comes in…

Consider the work that Hagar International is doing in Cambodia. This amazing organization not only shelters and counsels women who come out of the sex trade, but they also give them job training. Hagar has created several companies that will employ these women, giving them a means to provide their own support and breaking the financial chains the sex trade has over them. You can purchase goods made from the women of the Hagar Project at www.shopinlight.com.

The formation of Kingdom Companies across South East Asia has the potential to play a serious part in curtailing the human trafficking epidemic the region is currently experiencing. By bringing both the Gospel and economic alternatives to prostitution, Kingdom Companies can provide social, financial, and ultimately spiritual freedom to countless women who are currently faced with few opportunities.

WHO WILL BE THE WILLIAM WILBERFORCE OF THIS GENERATION?

Just as Wilberforce used political means to fight against slavery in his time, so to should we use the power of entrepreneurship to help fight in one of the noblest of causes.
GET INVOLVED

• Read John Piper’s recently released biography on William Wilberforce. It is available online for free at Desiring God.
• See the movie “Amazing Grace“, which tells the story of Wilberforce’s struggle to end the slave trade in England. It comes out in theaters on February 23.
• Donate to organizations like International Justice Mission. IJM uses legal channels to fight human trafficking across the world. IJM looks not only to simply free women who have been forced into slavery, but also prosecute the individuals responsible for their enslavement.
• Support organizations like Hagar International.
• Go to Southeast Asia and start your own Kingdom Company!

The Libyan government is planning to lay off 400,000 of their employees in an effort to decrease their national budget and increase their private sector:

“Each public employee who is laid off will be given a full salary for three years or will be granted up to $40,800 in loans to start a business, he said in his speech, which was broadcast on national television.”

“The Libyan leader, Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi, has frequently said that his nation of five million people, a member of OPEC, depends too heavily on its income from oil, which is the source of almost all of Libya’s hard currency earnings.

He has also said Libyans are too dependent on foreigners and imports of consumer goods. Colonel Qaddafi has said he intends to move toward economic self-reliance and to make changes that will support the private sector in an effort to reduce unemployment, now at least 13 percent.”

There could potentially become an amazing market for Kingdom-minded consultants to assist these newly unemployed Libyans in developing the skills necessary to start their own business. Libya is one of the most unreached countries in Africa and any opportunities to spread the Gospel in that dark country should be seized upon.

If you feel the Lord is directing you to pursue Business as Missions in Libya, be sure contact Frontiers.org. Frontiers is an excellent agency with experience both in Business as Missions and North Africa.

Spending months and months researching and writing “the perfect plan” doesn’t necessary improve your start-up’s chance of success. William Bygrave, an entrepreneurship professor from Babson College, suggests that entrepreneurs stick to a more “informal” plan that will push them formulate their thoughts while still remaining nimble:

A study recently released by Babson College analyzed 116 businesses started by alumni who graduated between 1985 and 2003. Comparing success measures such as annual revenue, employee numbers and net income, the study found no statistical difference in success between those businesses started with formal written plans and those without them. The study concludes that “unless you need to raise external start-up capital from institutional sources or business angels, you do not need to write a formal business plan.”

This in no way means you can get out of doing the research and analysis necessary to determine if the business idea is even viable.

For a large number Business as Missions start-ups, the founders will have little to no on-the-ground experience before they head overseas to launch their venture. In these instances, having a business plan that is both well researched and flexible is critically important. The plan will need to adjust as the entrepreneur gains experience in their new business environment.

LINK - Do Start-Ups Really Need Formal Business Plans? in WSJ

Not that impressive, until you realize that this is not just an ordinary bicycle. This bicycle has the potential to unlock the cell phone market to millions of new consumers in China and India.

How?

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