You've heard about the serious issues of extreme poverty and corruption in Africa. But what can you, as a business owner, do about it? A PBS series is following entrepreneurs in Kenya who think they may have an answer to that question. The "NOW" series will track American business people working with African entrepreneurs to spread for-profit clinics across the country to make affordable health care available to Kenya's poorest areas. In a sense, they'll be franchising health services and drugs to rural areas, just as we franchise burger and donut shops. "If we had as many franchise outlets delivering health care in developing countries as Subway has sandwich shops, we've estimated we could serve about 120 million people a year," said Scott Hillstrom, the businessman who came up with the idea. Catch "NOW" on PBS May 25 at 8:30 p.m.

It's almost official: After many controversial discussions surrounding the proposed minimum wage hike, it was finally approved by Congress on Thursday. This will be the first increase in the federal minimum wage in almost a decade. The hike will raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, up from $5.15. The bill now has to be signed by Pres. Bush, but according to a spokesman for the president, he's expected to sign it. The wage hike will be considered a victory by congressional Democrats, since it's an issue that has been met with objections from the White House and many Republicans. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the tax package "isn't sufficiently focused on the economic concerns of small businesses who will be most negatively affected by the minimum wage hike." On the other hand, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), said the package actually "targets tax relief to small businesses."

The measure does make some allowances for small businesses, including extending a law allowing them to quickly deduct $112,000 for equipment purchases and raising the deduction amount to $125,000. Also, married couples operating unincorporated businesses would be allowed to file as sole proprietorships, which would simplify their tax returns.

The rate hike would go into effect 60 days after the bill is signed by Bush, though it would increase steadily over the next few years. The first increase would be to $5.85, then a year later, the wage would rise to $6.55 an hour, and $7.25 the following year.

Does it really make a difference where your product comes from? According to this AdAge article, it doesn't. An Anderson Analytics study showed most college students have no idea where their favorite brands come from. For instance, did you know that Adidas is American, not German, and that Volvo is German, not Swedish? The study also showed that a good product can actually affect one's attitude toward the country they believe produces it. In their research, Anderson Analytics found that students who knew LG was from Korea gave the country higher points for producing the product.