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Press Release: Sarah Malm Announced as New Executive Director of GOGLA, the Global Association for the Off-Grid Solar Energy Industry
GOGLA represents companies, investors, and development actors working to build sustainable markets for off-grid solar technologies.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Trust and Scale in Global Social Enterprise Law
Social enterprise law around the world faces a difficult trade-off between cultivating public trust and promoting scale. The sector will benefit by getting clearer on the available options.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: Visa and the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation Launch Digital Finance for All Initiative
This five-year initiative aims to advance digital financial inclusion for 20 million individuals, including women, small holder farmers (SHF), and nano, micro and small enterprise (NMSE) owners across low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: D.light and Chapel Hill Denham Close $7.4 Million in Securitized Financing to Fund Off-Grid Solar Expansion in Nigeria
A new financing facility provided by the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) will open up access to affordable clean energy in Nigeria.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa’s Ed-Tech Sector Has Unlimited Potential, but Lack of Funding Holds It Back
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion of the six developing world regions, according to the World Bank.
- Categories
- Education, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- edtech, scale, venture capital, youth
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Trash Talk: Five Lessons for Reducing Plastic Pollution by Establishing Sachet Recycling Loops
Sachet waste — i.e., packaging for small, single-use quantities of consumer goods — is a growing environmental threat. With increasing demand for sachet-packaged products, particularly in emerging economies, the world now produces a staggering 855 billion pieces of this waste each year. Rolph Droste at Bopinc discusses the environmental impact of sachet waste, and shares learnings from a consortium of businesses and nonprofits that is establishing a large-scale, market-driven solution for recycling this waste in Bangladesh.
- Categories
- Environment, WASH
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Ampersand, a Rwandan E-Bike Startup, Raises $19.5 Million in a Funding Round
The Ampersand fleet has increased to over a thousand since its commercial launch in May 2019, and by the end of 2024, it is projected to surpass ten thousand.
- Categories
- Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Securitization for Social Impact: Why It’s the Ideal Instrument for Scaling Social Enterprises Providing Consumer Financing in the Developing World
Economic uncertainty has led to a risk-averse approach from investors in recent years, forcing social enterprises and other businesses in developing countries to find alternative sources of finance. Ron Pfende at d.light shares an innovative solution to this challenge: securitization, the process of transforming a group of cash-generating assets into one investable security. He explains how d.light has leveraged this approach to finance its growth, and how securitization yields returns for businesses and investors alike.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise