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Private Business Alone Can’t Bring Energy to the Last Mile: Why Philanthropy Should Shift its Focus to Scalable Non-Profit Models
Africa is home to countless failed pay-as-you-go energy businesses that couldn't sustain themselves after their grant funding dried up. According to Aneri Pradhan at New Energy Nexus, this highlights the shortcomings of market-led approaches to last-mile energy access across the continent. She argues that philanthropic funding has largely failed to create sustainable energy businesses in these communities, as customers cannot afford clean energy at their current income levels. Instead, she encourages funders to support non-profit models that have proven their ability to reach these communities at scale.
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Analysis: Why ESG Is So Important When Choosing a Project’s Location in Latin America
Investors worldwide need to be increasingly mindful of the impact their portfolio businesses have on the environment, society, and corporate governance structures.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Latin America
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Report: We Know Climate Change Touches Everything, so How Do We Empower Everyone?
Ashoka and The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship launch the Climate Changemaker Playbook, a report that sets three actionable strategies for individuals to play an active role in the systemic shifts needed to tackle climate change.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: Saad Kassis Mohamed Led WeCare Raises $350,000 for Lab-Grown Diamonds
This significant funding marks a pivotal moment in the foundation's commitment to fostering sustainability and advancement within the industry.
- Region
- Global
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Changing the Profitability Paradigm: A Key Report Aims to Rally Global Investors Behind a Sustainable Approach to Finance
As the global economy struggles to navigate financial crises and address shared challenges like climate change, Lucas Magnani at Convergences argues that the need to transform the profit-centric approach of traditional finance is increasingly urgent. He shares insights from Convergences' latest Impact Finance Barometer report, highlighting several ways that impact investors and others are working to put profitability and positive impact on equal footing — and some key areas where more progress is needed.
- Categories
- Investing
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Nine Business Models for Productive Use of Electricity in Africa: A Framework for Generating Profit and Impact in Off-Grid Energy
Improving energy access in rural Africa is crucial for poverty reduction, but grid electricity is often inaccessible or unaffordable — and off-grid alternatives present similar challenges. Olowo Aminu, Bodunde Akinola, Nneka Chime and Mosorire Aiyeyemi at CrossBoundary argue that Productive Use of Electricity (PUE) has the potential to solve these issues, boosting household income and economic growth, while increasing profitability for energy providers. They share a framework CrossBoundary has developed to help off-grid companies and other stakeholders plan for effective PUE implementation.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology
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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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Reimagining Enterprise Support and Advisory Services for Energy SMEs: Five Principles for Boosting their Impact in the Global South
Over 675 million people still lack access to electricity (as of 2021) — over 80% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. As Godfrey Simiyu Katiambo at Mercy Corps Energy4Impact explains, bridging this energy gap in an equitable, sustainable manner will require not only a massive increase in funding, but also targeted support for the small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) that are advancing clean energy access in underserved communities. He explores the growing need for enterprise support and technical and business advisory services that cater to these SMEs' unique challenges, and proposes five ways to boost the impact of these services.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment