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From Problem to Profit: Rewiring the E-Waste Value Chain in Africa
Africa is home to bountiful reserves of metals and minerals, but these resources have not unleashed widespread economic growth. However, as Anne Cathrine Garde and Blessing Layee-Maima Caine at the BESTSELLER Foundation explain, an “urban mine” is quietly growing on the continent, in the form of discarded electronic devices loaded with precious metals. They discuss how trailblazing trash entrepreneurs are tapping the riches sitting in Africa's overflowing landfills, and turning this problem into profit by rewiring the broken e-waste value chain.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology, WASH
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Filling the Water Access Funding Gap: Three Lessons to Maximize the Impact of Innovative Finance
More than two billion people still live without access to safe drinking water, but global funding to meet their water needs is severely lacking. As Lauren Cuscuna of Safe Water Network explains, innovative financing mechanisms can help fill the gap – but blended finance transactions in the water sector are lower than in other industries. She shares three key lessons Safe Water Network has learned while implementing innovative financing approaches to meet the long-term needs of the local water enterprises it works with in Ghana and India.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, WASH
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Trash Talk: Why the Circular Economy Could be Sub-Saharan Africa’s Latest Leapfrog Industry
From mobile banking to off-grid energy, sub-Saharan Africa has shown a tendency to leapfrog the rest of the world in establishing widespread access to digital infrastructure and new technologies. Tine Fisker Henriksen at BESTSELLER Foundation explores how the continent is making similar strides in the circular economy. She shares how enterprises across the region are taking innovative approaches to waste management, developing groundbreaking approaches to waste collection and recycling – while also supporting the often-informal workers who power the industry.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology, WASH
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Why Hand Hygiene Is the Perennial Third Wheel of WASH – and How It Can (Finally) Become a Global Development Priority
There has long been an imbalance in the global WASH sector, with water and sanitation prioritized far more than hygiene. As Geoff Revell at HappyTap explains, this lack of emphasis extends to both money and mentality – even as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial importance of handwashing and other hygiene measures. He shares three options that could improve the prospects for hygiene initiatives in developing communities — and explains why the best option might be the least flashy.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, WASH
- Tags
- coronavirus, global development, hygiene, sanitation, WASH, water
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Co-Creating a More Equitable World: The Transformative Benefits of Participatory Design
Technology is often designed for people — not with them or by them. Participatory design, says Sher Vogel of MIT D-Lab, is meant to change that. She explores how the method, which actively involves end-users in the design process, can produce products that are better aligned to people’s needs, while also building the skills and confidence of participants. Vogel explains how the process can be applied to business, technology and humanitarian aid, summarizes some challenges it can present, and shares links to upcoming MIT D-Lab courses that can provide a framework.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology, WASH
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What’s the Matter with WASH?: Why Struggling Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Businesses Need More than Just Investment
Despite limitless demand, most water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) businesses – particularly those serving the poorest customers – are struggling to find a market and attract investors. Annie Hall at Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor shares insights from a new report that explores where WASH businesses are going wrong – and how investors and development sector players can help.
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A New Mission for an Old Model: Unlocking Sustainable Water Through Savings Groups
To achieve universal access to clean water and sanitation by 2030, the world will need to quadruple spending to $150 billion per year. Given this financing gap, every investment in clean water counts. Yet according to Chris Prottas at The Water Trust, an estimated one out of three rural water points are broken across Sub-Saharan Africa, and the traditional community-led maintenance approach isn't working. He explores a promising solution: adapting the savings group model to provide sustainable water access.
- Tags
- financial inclusion, sanitation, savings, WASH, water
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Healthcare Cannot Exist Without Clean Water: Why WASH is the Foundation of an Effective Pandemic Response
Hospital beds and masks are often seen as the basic elements of defense against COVID-19. Yet for many developing countries, the pandemic has exposed even more fundamental disease prevention needs – namely, clean water and sanitation. Nafisa Jiwani at U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) discusses the vital role WASH plays in combating the pandemic, and how DFC is supporting water and sanitation efforts around the world.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Investing, WASH
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