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Six Key Trends Driving Affordable, Low-Carbon Growth in the Rural E-Mobility Sector
In the last five years, a vast array of e-mobility startups have sprung up across sub-Saharan Africa, focused largely on electric bikes, scooters and three-wheelers. As Richa Goyal at Energy Saving Trust points out, these businesses are accelerating Africa's shift toward low-carbon transportation, while also boosting local manufacturing, skill development and job creation. She outlines six key trends and business model features in this emerging sector.
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- Energy, Transportation
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Reversal of Fortune: Five Ways Biden’s Win Will Boost Impact Investing in Emerging Markets
In the aftermath of the U.S. election, there's been considerable discussion of how Biden’s victory will impact different industries. According to Josh Knauer at JumpScale, one particular sector that will benefit is impact investing. He explains how the work of impact investors had become more difficult during the Trump years, and why there's reason to believe that the incoming administration will give the sector’s efforts in emerging markets a significant boost.
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- Energy, Finance, Investing, Technology, Transportation
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Digital Access Matters: The Benefits of Bringing High-Speed Internet To Low-Income Communities During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has led people around the world to work and shop from home – but as Dirk-Jan Koeman and Kara Ing at Poa Internet point out, this is easier for some than others. For instance, in densely-populated urban areas in Kenya, the lack of high-speed internet makes working from home almost impossible. They discuss how Poa is bringing these households online, and share research on how these newly connected customers are using the internet.
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- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
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Learning From Emerging Markets Entrepreneurs During COVID-19: What Lockdowns Teach Us About Resilience
How can entrepreneurs in emerging markets build their resilience to the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19? What tools enable them to adapt when everything around them has changed? Wendy Chamberlin at the BOMA Project and Larry Reed at Soul of Finance discuss ways to support – and learn from – African business owners during the pandemic.
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- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise, Transportation
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Tackling the COVID-19 Coffee Crisis: Can Blockchain Strengthen the Link Between Producers and Buyers?
COVID-19 is having a major negative impact on many sectors, and the coffee industry is no exception. The closing of restaurants and cafes has reduced consumption, and according to Isabel van Bemmelen at the Progreso Foundation, coffee producers have been especially hard hit. She explores a blockchain-driven solution that could help producers survive the pandemic.
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- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Transportation
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- blockchain, COVID-19, employment, lending
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Scaling Big Data for Social Good: Weighing the Benefits and the Risks
Each day, the world generates about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, and the entire digital universe is expected to hit 44 zettabytes this year. According to Hayden Dahmm at SDSN TReNDS, this data can provide major benefits if it's shared between the public and private sectors – but the risks are equally significant, particularly in emerging markets. He explores how to ensure that big data is used safely and ethically.
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- Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
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- public policy
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The Hidden Value of Untapped Ideas: Three Development Sector Approaches that Deserve a Second Look
The development challenges facing African countries – from income inequality to crippling infrastructure gaps – are huge and growing. But while tackling these issues will require innovative responses, “innovative” may not necessarily mean “new.” Aubrey Hruby at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center explores three ideas that the development sector discarded – or never considered in the first place – which may hold the key to solving some of Africa’s biggest challenges.
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- Social Enterprise, Transportation
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What Will Last Mile Distribution Look Like in 2025? Six Predictions for an Emerging Sector
From water purifiers to solar lights, the impact-oriented products can’t further development goals if they can't make it to last mile customers. Emma Colenbrader and Charlie Miller of the Global Distributors Collective explain how the organization's 140 member distributors have defied tough odds to get 13 million products and counting into the hands of last mile households. They share a first-of-its-kind report that aims to better understand the markets for these products, the customers being reached – and the business models that can reach them.
- Categories
- Energy, Telecommunications, Transportation