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From People to Packages: How a Nigerian Ride-Hailing Business Weathered the Pandemic by Shifting to Last-Mile Delivery
The effects of COVID-19 have impacted business around the world, and consumer-focused sectors in Africa have faced particular challenges. As Nikhil Goel at Gokada explains, the crisis has exposed the urgent need for digital-first approaches to work, shopping and other aspects of daily life – and opened new opportunities for nimble enterprises that can tap into this growing demand. He explores how Gokada has successfully navigated the pandemic by shifting its business model from ride-sharing to last-mile delivery.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology, Transportation
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Solutions to the Care Crisis: How Social Enterprises and Impact Investing Can Transform the Care Economy
The care economy – i.e., paid and unpaid care provided to children, the elderly, and those with illnesses or disabilities – is central to our society’s well-being and to the broader economy. But according to analysts at IDRC, E. T. Jackson and Associates Ltd., and the Soros Economic Development Fund, COVID-19 has worsened the challenges facing these primarily female workers. They explore some innovative market-based solutions to these issues, and discuss how impact investors and other stakeholders can better support care workers, particularly in the Global South.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise, Transportation
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Making This Year Better Than the Last: A Recent Survey Assesses the Pandemic’s Impacts on Micro and Small Businesses
Micro and small businesses dealt with massive challenges during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and even those that adapted and survived still face major struggles. Juan Carlos Thomas at TechnoServe shares the results of a recent study on COVID-19's impact on these enterprises, and explores how his organization has been supporting them – including through a crisis toolkit that helps them weather the pandemic's challenges, and through digital tools focused on business training and access to finance.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology, Transportation
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Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Around the World: Leveraging Partnerships and Technology to Optimize Medical Supply Chains
Effective vaccine distribution is key to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries. Similar vaccination efforts for routine childhood diseases have been widely successful, but targeting an adult population presents unique challenges, say Wade Warren at Deloitte Consulting and Marian W. Wentworth at Management Sciences for Health. They explore four challenges that vaccine distribution efforts will face – and four tried-and-proven ways to improve the process.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Transportation
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Learning From India: How Low- and Middle-Income Countries Can Scale up Access to Oxygen During a COVID-19 Surge
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial importance of medical oxygen. And as India has shown, it has also revealed health systems’ limitations in supplying it – and the global supply chain’s inability to respond to the massive need that can arise during a crisis. PATH has worked for the past five years to sustainably improve access to oxygen in low- and middle-income countries. Analysts at the organization explore the current oxygen crisis in India, and share lessons that can help other countries avoid similar shortfalls if they experience their own COVID-19 surges.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Transportation
- Tags
- COVID-19, scale, supply chains
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Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: A Microfinance Network Responds to the Devastating Reality of COVID-19 in India
The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a disastrous toll in India, with over 27 million confirmed cases and 311,000 reported deaths. In the face of this emergency, Opportunity International is leveraging its network of microfinance partners to provide crucial assistance to hard-hit communities. CEO Atul Tandon explains how the organization is working with microfinance providers to convert their offices into emergency response and triage centers, while educating clients about pandemic-related health risks and providing them with food and supplies.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Health Care, Transportation
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‘Back in the U.S.S.D.’: Most Smartphone Owners—Especially Women—Don’t Use Apps for Financial Services
The global transition from basic mobile phones to smartphones has impacted nearly every sector, including financial services. Bryan Pon from Caribou Data considers whether this shift will help or hinder access to mobile money and digital finance for women in emerging markets — a group already less likely to be using these services. He shares the findings of a comprehensive study on how payment system design could impact gender bias in digital finance, and discusses the ongoing popularity — and under-recognized advantages — of old-fashioned USSD codes in mobile money.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
- Tags
- data, financial inclusion, fintech
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Innovative Philanthropy: Why Charitable Giving in Global Education Is Good Business
The business community is increasingly aware of its social responsibility and the impact of its charitable giving — and this shift is influencing how it interacts with the philanthropic sector. Kingsley Pungong of Rainbow Sports Global shares the changes he's seen as a long-term entrepreneur and philanthropist, and explores how innovative new giving models can benefit both recipients and donors. As a case in point, he explains how his recent donations in support of global childhood education will improve his business dealings and make a strong social impact.
- Categories
- Education, Investing, Transportation
- Tags
- corporations, philanthropy