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PUE at the BoP: Three Approaches To Making Productive Uses Of Energy Accessible To All
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) technologies, such as solar water pumps, refrigeration and sewing machines, are crucial for helping smallholder farmers and other microentrepreneurs generate incomes. But as Christopher Emmott at Acumen explains, the high up-front costs of PUE appliances prevent many people at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) from purchasing them. He shares some innovative approaches and business models that can enable vulnerable communities to access these life-changing technologies.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Scaling Climate Finance for Smallholder Agriculture: Lessons Learned from Partnering with Farmer-Allied Businesses
Small-scale agriculture supports the livelihoods of more than 600 million families and generates over 40% of jobs in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Yet as Elizabeth Teague at Root Capital points out, agricultural livelihoods are highly vulnerable to climate change, and smallholder farmers receive just 1.7% of global climate financing. She discusses how Root Capital is working with farmer-allied enterprises to help close this gap, sharing what they’ve learned about how to design and scale climate financing for smallholder communities.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Investing
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Agricultural Insurance + Energy Access: An Innovative Pilot Program Reveals the Value of Bundled Services — And the Need for Cross-Sector Partnerships
As the world works to achieve SDG7, it's becoming clear that cross-sector partnerships will be key to meeting its goal of affordable, sustainable energy for all by 2030. Anshul Patel at Bboxx — a leading distributor of pay-as-you-go solar energy products — shares learnings from the company's recent partnership with Pula, an agri-insurance technology firm, which insured Bboxx customers against the climate-related crop failures that can lead to payment defaults and repossession of their energy products.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Technology
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Rethinking Scale in Agribusiness: An Impact Investor Explores the Massive Benefits of Being Small
Many impact investors have adopted the mindset of traditional venture capital, seeking out companies with the potential to reach millions of customers. But Chris Wayne and Coco Lim at Acumen argue that this single-minded focus on scale ignores the realities of agribusinesses in emerging markets, and overlooks small businesses' potential to make a deeper impact. They explore why impact investors should focus on more than just the number of "lives impacted” by their agriculture investments, moving toward a more nuanced understanding of scale in this crucial sector.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Sweeter Prospects for Cocoa Farmers: A Recent Study Shows How Formal Land Rights Improve the Financial Outlook for Smallholders in Cote d’Ivoire
Cocoa is one of the world’s most prized foods, but the smallholder farmers who produce it typically live in poverty and often lack formal rights to the land they're farming. Scott Graham and Anahit Tevosyan at FINCA International explore how a partnership between global chocolate companies and other industry and development sector players is strengthening farmers' property rights in Cote d’Ivoire — the source of 45% of the world’s cocoa — thereby aiming to improve their financial health and resilience.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
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Unlocking Data-Driven Policymaking: A Digitalisation Programme in Rwanda Shows the Impact of Improved Storage on Agriculture Prices — And the Value of Digital Data
Transporting produce in Rwanda is difficult, and the country’s storage infrastructure is limited. To better understand these challenges and their potential solutions, Cenfri has been analysing the country’s agriculture sector as part of its efforts to support digitalisation and data-led decision-making in government. Olivia Rutayisire and Pieter Janse van Vuuren at Cenfri share insights from this work, exploring how digital data can impact government initiatives that aim to support farmers and optimise agricultural markets.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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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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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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