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Kasha Raises $21 Million Series B Led by Knife Capital to Expand Health Access Platform Across Africa
Kasha provides a digital retail and last-mile distribution platform for pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs).
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Rethinking Farming in Small Island Developing States: Five Major Trends in Jamaican Agriculture That Can Apply to Other Emerging Economies
Though Jamaica is working to diversify production and build self-sufficiency in its agricultural sector, like much of the Caribbean region, it still imports more food and livestock than it exports. But as Varun Baker at Farm Credibly points out, the country is exploring new farming practices and technologies that can boost its agricultural output and sustainability. He shares five key trends in Jamaican agriculture that could provide a model to other emerging economies — particularly Small Island Developing States.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
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Press Release: IFC Partners with Orange Bank Africa to Increase Digital Lending for Small Businesses in West Africa
According to the World Bank Group's MSME finance gap report, 63 percent of MSMEs in Senegal and 57 percent in Côte d'Ivoire experience constraints when accessing a loan or line of credit.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Blueprint for Productive Use of Clean Energy: An Accelerator in Nigeria Generates Solutions for Linking Mini-Grids to Agricultural Equipment in Rural Communities
There are over 70 mini-grids operating in Nigeria today, and similar businesses are delivering clean energy in other underserved communities around the world. But as Scarlett Santana at RMI explains, serving these markets presents unique challenges, since if customers lack productive uses for the electricity they sell, mini-grids’ revenue model fails. She explores how mini-grids can address this challenge by partnering with agricultural equipment providers, and discusses an accelerator co-led by RMI that is providing the ecosystem to make these partnerships happen.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
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How Innovation Created an Off-Grid Solar Market in Rural Bangladesh — And What Other Countries Can Learn from this Model
In the early 2000s, a small-scale World Bank pilot project in Bangladesh unexpectedly grew into the largest off-grid solar program in the world. According to Nancy Wimmer at microSOLAR, the program's success provided the rest of the world with a model for how low- and middle-income countries can develop a nationwide, rural market for decentralized solar systems driven by home-grown companies. She explores how other countries can adapt Bangladesh’s market-creating innovations to their own local environments.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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Solar Power Provider Seeks $100 Million for Nigeria Expansion
WATT Renewable Corp aims to raise as much as $100-million by the end of 2024 to expand its business of providing solar power.
- Categories
- Energy, Investing, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Repairing Electronics: A Circular Economy Solution for Reducing E-Waste and Building Resilience in Rural Africa
The accumulation of electronic waste is an increasingly urgent issue around the world. And as Sofia Ollvid at SolarAid points out, Africa is ground zero for this problem, since a significant amount of e-waste created globally is shipped to dumpsites across the continent. She explores how repairing electronic devices can help address this challenge while also boosting the local economy, as shown by a SolarAid program that's training repair technicians in Zambia and Malawi to extend the lifespan of solar devices.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Technology
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Xiaomi India Joins United Way India to Empower Rural Communities With Sustainable Energy
The primary objective is to equip these villages with reliable, sustainable energy through solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) Infrastructure.
- Region
- Asia Pacific