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Banking on Human Capital: What Financial Institutions Need to Do – Now – to Enable a COVID-19 Recovery
Every crisis carries its own unique signature, and COVID-19 is likely to be defined by a series of flare-ups and lockdowns, says Elisabeth Rhyne at the Financial Access Initiative. Within that scenario, the financial inclusion sector needs to determine the most effective ways to reduce the pandemic's impact on vulnerable people and businesses – and it needs to start immediately.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Keeping the Lights On: How PAYGo Solar Can Offer Customer Relief During COVID-19
Off-grid solar delivers essential energy to millions of people, helping make households, business and institutions more resilient to the COVID-19 crisis. But as analysts at BFA, CGAP and GOGLA explain, the pandemic threatens the industry, particularly its very successful pay-as-you-go business model. They explore how companies could enable customers to continue using their solar home systems during the pandemic, with reduced – or even without – customer payments.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy
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How Software-as-a-Service is Helping Digitize Latin America’s Small Businesses
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model is allowing small businesses around the world to compete with larger firms at a fraction of the cost. However, as Greg Mitchell at Angel Ventures points out, in markets like Latin America, the rise of SaaS has been slow and difficult. He explores how that dynamic is changing, and how SaaS is boosting the region's small businesses.
- Categories
- Technology
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The Informal Economy is Complicating Government Responses to COVID-19: Will the Crisis Push Millions Toward Formality?
As COVID-19 devastates the global economy, many governments have designed support measures to help businesses and workers survive. But as Jill Lagos Shemin and James Dailey point out, this support may be ineffective in lower-income countries, where most small businesses and their employees work in the informal economy, lacking bank accounts and even valid ID. They explore some solutions governments can pursue – and trade-offs they will have to accept.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Africa’s Youth Employment During a COVID-19 Recession: We Must Innovate to Achieve a Job-Rich Recovery
As COVID-19 ravages the global economy, how can we protect existing jobs and quickly produce new ones – especially in markets like Africa, where youth unemployment was already high? According to Stephen Hunt and Neil Fleming at the Challenges Group, tackling this issue will require the development sector to innovate – and recognize that some of its favored approaches aren't working.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Tags
- COVID-19
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Solving the Credit Impasse: How Big Data and AI are Generating Funding Opportunities for Smallholder Farmers in Africa
Smallholder farmers provide over 80% of the food in much of the developing world, making a major contribution to poverty reduction and food security. Yet as Iftin Fatah at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation points out, in Africa, less than 3% of total bank lending goes to the sector – even though it accounts for about 70% of all employment and over 40% of GDP. She explores some innovative, tech-driven solutions to this perennial problem.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Overcoming an Outdated Narrative: Why Investors Need to Recognize Africa’s True Potential
Many Western people have an outdated view of Africa, defined by senseless wars, poverty and disease. As Cameron Khosrowshahi and Emily Langhorne at USAID INVEST point out, this worldview even permeates the financial sector, causing investors to overemphasize risks and overlook opportunities that could benefit both investors and African nations. They provide a necessary corrective in this article, urging institutional investors in particular to embrace these opportunities.
- Categories
- Investing
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Moving Past Traditional Philanthropy: A Q&A with Enterprise Development Pioneer Frank Giustra
Earlier this year, the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership announced that it was spinning off from the Clinton Foundation, where it had been an initiative since its founding in 2007. The independent organization, now called Acceso, works to build businesses and connect them to the broader marketplace – particularly in Latin America. Its founder, Frank Giustra, discusses its new focus and ongoing work in this Q&A.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Social Enterprise