Aarong, the retail arm of BRAC, a non-profit development organization based in Bangladesh, was created in 1978 to provide employment, income generation and social development opportunities for underprivileged women through the revival and promotion of Bangladeshi handicrafts.

BASIX, headquartered in Hyderabad, was the brand name of a group of entities with 6,000 outlets offering financial and livelihood promotion services throughout rural India.

Fabindia, India’s iconic garments and home furnishings company, had come a long way from its humble beginnings as an export shop in 1960, selling handloom fabrics to overseas customers. In 1976, it had started domestic operations in India and over the next 38 years had become synonymous with quality handmade products procured from artisans all over India, with a social conscience.

With the publication of CK Prahalad’s “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” (2005), the poor were suddenly seen as a potential market in the eyes of multinational corporations (MNCs). Although poor, the BOP is a large and growing market.

Healthy Oils, the Indian subsidiary of a Fortune 500 subsidiary, has four offerings in the edible oil market – Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. While these are recognized by consumers of cooking oil, they are not among the top five in terms of brand awareness, nor are they the top choice in the most-often-used category, except for Beta in the groundnut category.

In September 2010, Dürr AG issued a corporate bond without the use of underwriters or rating agencies via a new bond issuance platform developed by Boerse Stuttgart. This reflected a growing trend among European corporations to tap capital markets instead of bank debt to secure debt financing.

In 2009, a Macquarie consortium won the tender to build six Irish schools under a public-private partnership programme. The work was financed mainly with debt, with only €50,000 of straight equity injected into the project. Payments from the Irish government were the sole source of revenue.

A consortium made up of Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) and Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte wins the concession for the Indiana Toll Road at a bid price of US$3.8 billion in January 2006. Market observers think the amount is too high, but MIG is confident the asset is worth the price.

Aquasure - a consortium formed by Macquarie, Degremont and Thiess - won the concession to finance, build, maintain and operate the A$5.72 billion Victorian Desalination plant under a public-private partnership initiative known as Partnerships Victoria. Financing took place during the period of the global financial crisis and there was a subsequent political backlash.

The growth of Hyflux Limited (Hyflux) required it to become more financially sophisticated. As part of its “asset-light” funding strategy – optimising the use of capital by realising asset values early to keep a lean balance sheet - Hyflux spun off 13 water plants to a business trust, Hyflux Water Trust (HWT).