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Do Formal Savings Accounts Lead to Better Results for Low-Income Users?: Lessons from Two Customer-Centric Research Studies in Africa
The Savings Learning Lab was a six-year initiative that supported learning among Mastercard Foundation’s savings-focused financial inclusion programs across Africa. Program partners Savings at the Frontier and Scale2Save employed two different research approaches to better understand the impact of formal savings accounts on the lives of low-income people. Jenny Morgan at FinEquity discusses these approaches and the insights they generated, which went beyond access and usage to reveal the nuances of clients' savings preferences and behaviors.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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Empowering Women to Fight Climate Change: A Program in Zambia Shows How Smallholder Farmers Can Lead the Way
Southern Africa has faced persistent drought, erratic rainfall and other consequences of climate change. And as Simon Crittle at International Development Enterprises (iDE) explains, women are disproportionately impacted by these challenges. He discusses an iDE program that trains farmers in Zambia to sell climate-smart agricultural inputs and services to their fellow smallholders — an initiative that it demonstrates the impact market-based interventions can have in preparing women farmers to play a leading role in addressing the climate crisis.
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- Agriculture, Environment
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Addressing India’s Economic Achilles Heel: Leveraging Trade and Digitalisation to Boost Women’s Labour Force Participation
India will soon become the world’s most populous country and third-largest economy, and it is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy global economic forecast. But as international development consultant Abhirup Bhunia points out, the labour force participation rate for women in India is just 24% — far lower than most countries. He argues that India will not realize its potential if women’s economic participation fails to increase, and explores how the country can leverage international trade and digitalisation to empower women to drive its emergence as a global economic powerhouse.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Preparing Young Leaders to Solve the World’s Energy Challenges: Insights From Nine Business Case Studies Highlight Paths to a Sustainable Future
Confronting the world’s vast energy and climate challenges can be daunting, but a new generation of innovative entrepreneurs are developing the skills to tackle this threat head-on. Sandra Draheim at the William Davidson Institute (WDI) argues that business case studies are a key teaching tool for these young leaders. She shares nine energy and climate-related case studies from WDI Publishing (available at 50% off through March 31), and invites readers to take part in WDI's Energy Innovation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Global Case Writing Competition, which offers cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 to the three winners.
- Categories
- Education, Energy, Environment, Transportation
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A Roadmap to Modern Energy in Rural Africa: How Minigrids Are Poised to Power the Region’s Economic Growth
Universal electrification is the key to unlocking sub-Saharan Africa's vast potential. But according to Brad Mattson at Husk Power Systems, despite the growing consensus that solar minigrids are the key to providing modern electricity in rural Africa, scale remains elusive in the continent's minigrid industry. In the aftermath of Husk's recent announcement that it has become the first rural minigrid developer to achieve profitability, Mattson explores the roadmap he and his fellow Husk executives have created, which defines a clear pathway to profitability and scale for the industry.
- Categories
- Energy
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Some Things Have to Die for Others to Live: Why Scaling Down is Just as Important as Scaling Up in the Transformation of Global Food Systems
Multiple crises have exposed the fragility and inequity of global food systems. But according to Eva Valencia and Lennart Woltering at CIMMYT and Frédéric Goulet at CIRAD, strategies to transform the world's food systems typically focus on introducing or scaling up new innovations and programs, while failing to scale down the habits, mindsets and institutions that are perpetuating the problem. They explore a key example of this issue — the ongoing use of unsustainable farming practices like tilling — and discuss how farmers can move toward more sustainable "no-till" practices that protect soil health.
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- Agriculture
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How Foreign Aid Can Innovate Itself Out of Existence: Exploring the Potential of Market-Creating Innovation for Sustainable Development
The foreign aid sector has long been criticized for its inability to generate consistent economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. According to Efosa Ojomo at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a new approach to aid is needed: one that recognizes the power of business innovation to create new markets that advance local prosperity. He discusses a new pan-African initiative based on that approach, which aims to mobilize aid, business and African institutions to build new markets that generate self-sustaining economic growth.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
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Lessons in Resilience: What an Impact Investor Learned from an Entrepreneur Who Refused to Give Up
Entrepreneurship is a long game, and winning often comes down to grit. One case in point: Arindam Dasgupta, the co-founder and CEO of Tamul Plates, who has built a thriving business in India despite the historic challenges of recent years. Sachi Shenoy at Calidris and Steve Schwartz at the World Economic Forum were early investors in Tamul Plates through Upaya Social Ventures, the impact investing firm they co-founded. They discuss what Dasgupta has taught them about the qualities and practices investors should look for when seeking resilient entrepreneurs.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise