Natural gas as automotive fuel

This is fascinating! From the WSJ, details here.

Pakistan - Flood Donation

A large number of folks have asked me to suggest a trusted source where they can donate for the Pakistan flood relief efforts.

I am an Advisor to Ms. Sarah Hashwani, Chariman of Board of Directors of the Hashoo Foundation and the Foundation itself, a family philanthropic organization that has been working in Pakistan for quite a few years, see website here. The foundation has UK and USA (501c3) offices and conducts philanthropic efforts in the two countries as well.

I have worked with the organization and have been impressed with the excellent recipient services the foundation offers. I have met many individuals whose lives have been transformed through the foundation's work. One of the breakthrough recipient service innovations the foundation delivered "Plan Bee" won the BBC World Challenge Award, see detail here.

As you review the Foundation's site, you will notice that it has both a current support focus and long-term rehabilitation plan as well. Rehabilitation will be key to the recovery of the country.

Thank you for choosing to donate whether through the Hashoo Foundation or another source.

Pakistan Flood Relief Donation - here.
Note that you can send a check to the US based organization along with being able to donate through PayPal.

Education Statistics in the Poorest Countries of the World

I have been consulting in the development sector for the past few years.  I found the data above of great value representing extremes in education in some of the poorest countries in the world.

CEO Opening - Pakistan ICT R&D Fund

Pakistan's Ministry of Information Technology has opened up the position for the CEO (of National ICT R&D Fund) to lead its roughly $35m for information and communication technology, see details here.  Of interest to my readers would be the Centers of Innovation RFPs in multiple sectors here.  A good beginning!

World Perspective / Photo - 5 [Education]

Taking metric (equivalent of class 10 or 10th grade) examination on the premises of Peshawer University, Pakistan.  Candle lights are lit as the power outages are often and unplanned, lasting 12 hours or more in a day. 

Below, students of a local school in Swat, Pakistan solve their examination papers in the debris of their school.  The school was destroyed during fighting between the Pakisani military and insurgents.

World Perspective / Photo - 2 [Farming Investment]

Global trends are the excitement for the hedge funds, banks and investors. One that has been gaining steam / noise in the past six to twelve months has been farming for food supplies to regions of the world where farming is cost prohibitive and / or not possible at all.

It is interesting to see the investments out of the Gulf into South and South East Asian farms. A great article on the subject from the Economist here. The not so fortunate part is that the agreements / contracts are mostly at a governmental level, which leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the application of the rule of law in those regions. The loser is and will be the uneducated farmer of these nations. See another good article from Asian Times here.

On the other hand lessons can be learned from the USA where the large corporations have caused the small farmer to cease to exist in an economically viable / successful fashion and other difficult issues have emerged. See explanations, insights and further links in an interesting article here from the Food & Water Watch.

For me it is exciting to see a new opportunity for the Frontier Markets such as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand. The topic to watch would be that does the "openness" in business practices that are driven when the individual investor come into a market happen? Does healthy regulation gets developed and then executed consistently? I believe it will.

World Perspective / Photo - 1 [Wireless Communication]

A donkey cart in Pakistan with the owner using a cell phone.

Interestingly, Pakistan's cell phone connectivity system will become the leader in Asia, beating the Far East Asian nations around 2010. Couple of examples of investments in this industry in Pakistan are China Mobile and Mobilink.

Breakthrough Innovation in The 3rd World - A Tail Spike Example

In the mid 80s in Pakistan, an idea started that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) could be used in gasoline engines by doing minor tuning to existing and new gasoline automobiles. The Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan provided funding to further the cause. Today Pakistan is one of the leading countries that has a plethora of Japanese automotive being built in Pakistan with dual fuel options (petrol and CNG) for retail sales.

What truly and literally started as shade-tree mechanic experiments now is an alternate fuel solution for tens of millions of automobile owners in Pakistan.

Click here for an example Suzuki.

Click here for the large number of dual fuel setup kits that can be purchased and installed in a gasoline car.