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Risk vs. Resilience: Insuring Sustainable African Cities in the Age of Climate Change
Though COVID-19 dominates the global conversation, climate change continues to have devastating effects. For instance, there were 53 climate-related disasters in Africa in 2018 alone – and these challenges are likely to get worse as the continent urbanizes. Kate Rinehart-Smit and Mia Thom at Cenfri suggest four interventions that can help insurers protect African cities and infrastructure against climate disasters.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
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A Digital Approach to Reducing Educational Inequality in Africa – During and After COVID-19
As COVID-19 spreads through sub-Saharan Africa, its long-term impact on children's education is becoming clear, as over 253 million students are not in school due to closures caused by the crisis. Wambura Kimunyu at Eneza discusses the company's innovative platform, which provides educational content via SMS texts – and how it's working to expand access to the platform in response to the pandemic.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Stronger Together: Why MIX and the Center for Financial Inclusion are Joining Forces
Yesterday came news that two key players in financial inclusion are joining forces: MIX, for nearly 20 years the chief data resource for inclusive finance, and the Center for Financial Inclusion, a leading independent think tank housed at Accion. Tillman Bruett at DAI and Greta Bull at CGAP discuss the significance of this merger for the organizations and the sector.
- Categories
- Finance
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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.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
- Tags
- public policy
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The Blind Spot in Africa’s COVID-19 Response: Western Public Health Tactics Won’t Work – This Local Solution Might
The COVID-19 pandemic is primed to spread in Africa, and with just one doctor per 5,000 people, a major outbreak would overwhelm the continent’s health care systems. But as Anatole Manzi at Partners In Health points out, tactics like social distancing and hand-washing are not feasible in crowded slums and areas without clean water. He proposes a home-grown solution: training young people as community health workers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
- Tags
- COVID-19, public health
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When Digital Payment Goes Viral: Lessons from COVID-19’s Impact on Mobile Money in Rwanda
Cash can help spread COVID-19, so some African countries have ramped up efforts to expand digital payments to fight the virus. According to Isabelle Carboni and Hennie Bester at Cenfri, this imperative to digitize is one of the key opportunities to emerge from the pandemic. They explore the early experiences of Rwanda, in assessing the impact these efforts can have.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Formal Insurance for Informal Labor: How Microinsurance Can Cover Young Workers in the Gig Economy
The gig economy is a growing source of employment for youth in emerging markets. But these workers often face a lack of social benefits, including access to insurance – and this vulnerability has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts at MSC discuss some innovative ways insurers can extend some of the formal economy's protections to these informal workers.
- Categories
- Finance
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Food Security During – And After – COVID-19: A Short and Long-Term Strategy for Funding Agribusiness
Over the past 18 months, Grassroots Capital Management had been preparing to launch a fund and technical assistance facility to improve access to capital and technology for smallholder farmers in Central America and the Caribbean. And then COVID-19 happened. Anna Kanze at Grassroots discusses how the pandemic has changed the landscape for smallholders in the region, requiring a new approach from the investors that support them.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus
