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Bringing Agricultural Insurance to Climate-Vulnerable Farmers: A Unique Pilot Program in Nepal Shows How to Unlock the Benefits of Index-Based Insurance for Smallholders
Nepal's topography and climatic conditions make it uniquely prone to natural disasters. As Maria Perdomo at UNCDF explains, these disasters threaten the country's economic development, and smallholder farmers and rural women are disproportionately affected. She discusses a UNCDF pilot program that brought agricultural insurance coverage to Nepali smallholders, and shares learnings from the program that could inform efforts to deliver insurance to farmers in other climate-vulnerable countries in Asia and beyond.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance
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Understanding Deglobalization: What the Backlash to Trade Liberalization Means for Business Growth and Global Inequality
Extensive trade liberalization, often referred to as globalization, was one of the most transformative economic events of the last century — and also one of the most controversial. As political support for protectionist policies grows, Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan at Yale Economic Growth Center and Bomi Okuyiga at Yale's Jackson School of Global Affairs share research insights that help illuminate the impact globalization has had on businesses and workers in low- and middle-income countries, with the goal of understanding how they may be affected by the current backlash.
- Categories
- Technology
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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.
- Categories
- 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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Understanding the Coping Strategies of Financially Distressed Households: New Data Shows Their Value — And Lasting Consequences
COVID lockdowns had a grave impact on the financial health of low-income communities around the world — and as Scott Graham, Anahit Tevosyan and Andrée Simon at FINCA International point out, further financial shocks are a virtual certainty for these households. They share data gathered during the pandemic that reveals the coping strategies FINCA clients used to navigate the crisis — and they discuss how these strategies have left low-income households vulnerable to future economic disruptions and income shocks.
- Categories
- Finance