DailySpotlight.net

Here is an interesting alternative to the controversial methods and process of the retail industry. This experience comes from across the channel and asks only to be exported... The concept: in exchange for 4 hours (unpaid) per month, and a modest fee, customers will benefit in return a 10% discount on products (local, artisanal and organic) sold by their supermarket - and thus help keep prices low by reducing personnel costs.

The People's Supermarket allows its community - an unprivileged neighborhood in London - to reinvent the way its members do their shopping: the choice of marketed products, suppliers, store hours, the business strategy, everything is voted by members. Imagine that we can complete the business model with a complementary currency system ...

Arthur Potts Dawson and Kate Wickes-Bull may have given rise to the cooperative ideal distribution model?

• www.thepeoplessupermarket.org

• The People's Supermarket : un modèle de distribution coopératif

At the end of this month, I will attend to the 2nd edition of the Rwanda Week (25-27th March 2011). I am currently bringing my modest contribution to the organization and I will also do a keynote about mobile banking outlooks in Africa (one of my favorite topics). Here is a quick presentation of the event :

On March 25th, 26th and 27th 2011, the Rwanda Week Forum will hold an European meeting focus on the Entrepreneurship initiatives of the Rwandan Diaspora and the partners which support and encourage the economic development of Rwanda.

The purpose of this event consist in launching officially actions for gathering ressources in Europe and support initiatives aiming to stimulate the social and economic development of Rwanda. Conceptualized 12 months ago through the Rwanda Business Exchange platform, this ambitious project brings together various «Afro-optimistic» partners looking for being involved in relevant actions, beyond formal speeches.

France is changing... Last year, thanks to the creation of the auto-entrepreneur status, the number of setting-up companies hit the record level of 580 193. That means a 75,1% increase compared with 2008. Since january 1st 2009, doing business has never been so easy and affordable in France. Consequently, all the spotlights were focused on this new category of businessmen and businesswomen during the 17th edition of the «Salon des Entrepreneurs» in Paris, which I attended on Februrary 3th and 4th.

As François Hurel (President of the Union des Auto-Entrepreneurs) claimed, it is possible to create an «auto-entreprise» in just 10 min on the website : www.lautoentrepreneur.fr. According to a poll from Opinionway, the most attractive disposals of this new status are the freedom feeling, the simplification of the administrative process and the fact that is not necessary to pay any taxes if the turnover is under or equal to zero.

During his speech, Hervé Novelli, secretary of state in charge of SMEs (Small and medium enterprises), was very pleased that this entrepreneurship freedom is the Key factor of this success story. In a country where people use to get bogged down in paperwork for any initiatives they want to take, and where so many people envy public servants benefits, this successful initiative is a real (positive) cultural revolution.

The IMF and World Bank never were really popular in the developing countries. Mainly because they were considered rightly or wrongly like imperialist institutions working for the interests of the USA. So it was predictible that one day, some countries will be fed up of the world leadership of this financial institutions. What some were dreaming about, Hugo Chavez and six others South-American countries done it ; create their own regional and independant financial institution to sustain and finance their own grothw and social development. Indeed, this Sunday december 9th in Buenos Aires (Argentina), « the leaders of these seven South American nations launched a regional development bank » with the ambitious goal to create one regional currency as European union managed to do it.

For its creation, the Banco del Sur, or Bank of the South is expected to get at least $7 billion in startup capital. It will provide Latin American countries « loans with fewer strings attached than those given by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or the Inter-American Development Bank ». This agreement constitutes clearly a strong sign of unity and prove that the South American countries have understood that they have to organize together their mutual developement, to be stronger and more independant.

I really hope this brave and positive initiative will manage to reach theirs goals, because south American like African people need to find a way to boost their development and it's a good thing they take their destiny into their own hands by this way.

South American Countries Agree to Found Banco Del Sur

Sept pays latino-américains lancent officiellement la Banque du Sud

Chavez, allies create South America bank