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Weekly Roundup: Brewing Inspiration (and Respect)
Two stories this week in the New York Times and Fast Company present arguments against paternalistic tendencies of linking aid to trade and advocate viewing and treating African entrepreneurs as you would any business hopeful.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education
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Can Coffee Kick-Start an Economy?
When he set out to wedge his coffee onto supermarket shelves in England and America, Andrew Rugasira didn’t start by making phone calls from his home in Kampala, Uganda. He didn’t begin by sending e-mails. The distance seemed too great for that. At one end of his business were farmers who, until he came along, thought their beans were purchased and carried off to make gunpowder. At the other were buyers at the corporate headquarters of chains like Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, Whole Foods and Wal-Mart. If he was going to succeed, he felt he would have to do it physically; it was as if he believed he could stretch himself to span the divide between the two worlds. So he got on a plane to London, without trying any advance contact.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Villgro Innovation Marketing Raises Seed Capital
Chennai based Villgro Innovation Marketing Private (VIM), an innovative rural distribution company, has raised a significant seed series investment from US-based investment firm Unitus Seed Fund and a group of angel investors to further expand its operations in South India.
- Source
- Press Release
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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Mapping the Agriculture Sector
In Sub-Saharan Africa, relatively large tracts of arable land are attracting investors seeking to establish large-scale mechanized primary agriculture production while smallholders’ productivity remains relatively low. But there is real innovation accelerating smallholder farmers’ ability to close the production gap and improve their ability to achieve real market returns.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Is Microfinance an Engine of Development? Finca Says Yes
The jury is still out on whether microcredit makes a difference to the lives of the poor, but stories of its success are compelling
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Cape Town’s Women Take the Lead in Farm-Focused Social Enterprise
Abalimi’s profitable social business, Harvest of Hope, relies on a community-supported agriculture model that provides customers (who pay in advance) a box of fresh, organically grown produce harvested from community gardens each week.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Investing in Agriculture Most Effective Way to Eradicate Poverty in Africa – UN
With the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) just three years away, a senior United Nations official today emphasized that spending on agriculture is the most effective type of investment for halting poverty in Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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On World Water Day: Mapping the Water and Sanitation Sector
When considering the entrepreneurial landscape in the water and sanitation sector overall, there is an enormous opportunity for social investment to make an impact; however, in order to be successful, social enterprises will require innovative approaches to tackle the serious challenges that remain.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care