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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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Finance
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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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Taking Inspiration from Innovation: Key Insights from Eight Entrepreneurs Making an Impact in Emerging Markets
Whether they're working to increase smallholder farmers’ profits, promote water or sanitation solutions, or address other key needs in emerging markets, social entrepreneurs tend to face common challenges. That's why they must learn from each other if they hope to flourish. Brigit Helms at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship shares insights from eight entrepreneurs in Miller Center’s Clean Water and Climate-Smart Agriculture program, who discuss their innovations, the challenges they’ve overcome and the lessons they’ve learned.
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- Agriculture, Social Enterprise, WASH
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Delivering on Mass Market Insurance in Africa: Debunking the Myth of Low Demand
Africa’s insurance penetration rate in 2019 was only 2.78%, significantly lower than the global average — and insurance usage is concentrated among the urban elite, with minimal adoption among the people with the most risk of financial shocks. According to Ted Pantone at Turaco, there's a widespread belief in the industry that this lack of uptake means African customers don't see value in the benefits of insurance. But he argues that Turaco’s rapid growth in Africa is debunking that myth. He explores three aspects of the company's model that have enabled it to unlock African customers' latent demand for insurance.
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- Finance, Telecommunications
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Six Business Plan Pitfalls to Avoid When Approaching Funders: Lessons from Healthcare Enterprises in Emerging Markets
Having a good business plan is a key part of building credibility with funders. But despite its importance to an enterprise’s success, many entrepreneurs in emerging markets struggle to develop a strong business plan that instills confidence among potential funders. Paul Clyde and Ioan Cleaton-Jones at the William Davidson Institute discuss six common business plan mistakes that can undermine an entrepreneur's prospects with funders, based on their work supporting the development of business plans for hundreds of healthcare enterprises in various emerging markets.
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- Health Care, Investing
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