You have to doff your cap to bill gates. I really respect him for trying to use his wealth to make the world a better place. Just take a look at the list of world’s wealthiest people and identify how many are giving back to society. There is warren buffett and not many others. Warren Buffett to me is almost like god on this earth. Can you imagine the world’s richest man giving away almost everything he made to someone else’s charity foundation so that together they can make a difference to the world? That is the most selfless act I have seen in my life. Someone who can do that must have no ego. It also says a lot about the friendship and trust between buffett and bill gates.
Now coming back to bill gates, he is definitely shooting for the stars. Bill and Melinda foundation is working on the world’s biggest problems such as treatments for diseases that cripple the world’s poorest countries.
Bill gates now wants to make banking easily accessible to the developing world using mobile phones. Mobile banking to me is not just about managing your money in the bank. It is an enabler to micro loans etc.
The GSMA, a worldwide consortium of mobile industries, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (owned by the guy who used to run Microsoft and his lady wife) have teamed up to found the the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) initiative, allowing folks in developing countries to carry out mobile banking from their non-smartphones and keep and grow their money in a safe and affordable fashion.
The Foundation has donated $12.5 million to the endeavor and is currently working to “catalyze a new wave of mobile money innovation” and will support 20 projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The ultimate goal? Supply 20 million unbanked people with mobile financial services by 2012.