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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.
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
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Data + Digitization: The Key To Helping African Banks and Microfinance Institutions Support Their Customers During COVID-19
Thanks to COVID-19, the IMF projects 2020 to be the worst year for Africa's economic growth since its record-keeping began in 1970. And concerns are also mounting about the likelihood of an increase in non-performing loans, which will impact businesses, industries and individuals across the continent. Cate Rung at Pngme explores how financial technology – including a unified data API platform – can help banks and microfinance institutions weather this crisis, while delivering services that comply with social distancing measures.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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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.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Investing, Technology, Transportation
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Taking Control of the Value for Money Narrative: How Innovative Metrics Are Making Impact Part of the Financial Equation
The nonprofit VisionSpring—which provides affordable, high-quality eyeglasses to base of the pyramid customers—realized it needed a metric that could balance cost and impact, while keeping its target customers at the center of decision-making. Analysts at CASE and SoJo discuss the value of the “programmatic value for money metric” VisionSpring implemented, and explore how this type of metric can help organizations consider trade-offs between cost and impact.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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How India Can Transform Its Fertilizer Subsidy Program
India is the second-largest user of fertilizer in the world, after China. It offers subsidies on fertilizers to make them affordable to the country's 150 million farmers – and ultimately, to ensure food security. But as Ritesh Rautela and Anurodh Giri at MSC point out, an estimated 65% of this fertilizer does not reach the intended beneficiaries – and the system has faced leakages and uneven usage among recipients. They propose a tech-fueled solution that could benefit both farmers and the Indian government.
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- Agriculture, Technology
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Five Ways To Use Media To Challenge Social Norms: Lessons From Kashf Foundation’s Innovative Use of Television for Social Impact
While researching organizations that are making a social impact through narrative storytelling, producer Lara Storm spoke with Roshaneh Zafar, president and founder of Kashf Foundation, a Pakistani microfinance organization that also produces popular television shows focused on challenging harmful social norms. Zafar shares five lessons from Kashf’s success, which provide a useful foundation for other organizations that are exploring social impact through entertainment.
- Categories
- Finance
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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.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
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Leveraging the COVID-19 Crisis for Local Development: How the Pandemic Can Strengthen Public-Private Collaboration in Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive humanitarian crisis. But as Malado Kaba, the first female Economy and Finance Minister of the Republic of Guinea argues, it could also be an opportunity for the African continent. She explores how public-private partnerships and improved collaboration across industries and sectors could create sustainable change—if governments take the lead in mobilizing private sector and development partners to support locally driven solutions.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Investing
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