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Two new MFIs raise hopes for Indian sector amid repayment trouble
Microfinance companies may be in the hot seat after demonetisation-led non-repayment of loans and Uttar Pradesh government's farm loan waiver announcement, but there are people who are still keen to put money in a market where borrowers in general take joint liability to repay loans.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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Trump Wants To Cut An Agency That Helps Small Farmers — And Makes Money For U.S. Taxpayers
Donald Trump doesn’t know my colleague Richard Tugume. Richard has spent the last decade traveling around East Africa investing in early-stage businesses. Businesses like Furaha, a coffee cooperative that received and later repaid a loan that, in the end, generated a profit for American taxpayers. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that President Trump’s budget blueprint threatens to eliminate the very source of this investment capital and the benefits that it delivers.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- North America
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Press Release: New off-grid technology helps developing world farmers access markets and sustainable business opportunities
New off-grid technology gives farmers in the developing world the means to access markets and sustainable business opportunities. When more than 30% of your harvest is lost due to environmental exposure and pests, your focus isn’t on entrepreneurship or creating employment opportunities for your community, it’s on survival.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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KickStart and VisionFund to Bring Affordable Irrigation to African Farmers
Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are set to benefit from a new partnership between World Vision’s microfinance arm, VisionFund International (VisionFund) and non-profit social enterprise, KickStart International (KickStart). The partners have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide an integrated solution to enable farmers to access, purchase and implement irrigation systems. With ambitious targets, the partnership anticipates 100,000 farmers (and 400,000 children) will benefit from greater access to water for their crops over the next five years.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Loan Guarantees Are Unlocking Private Capital for Clean Energy and Sustainable Agriculture
MCE Social Capital, a nonprofit impact investing firm, believes leveraging loan guarantees can unlock private sector capital for the more than 2 billion people who lack access to formal financial services. Over the past couple of years, MCE has expanded its focus to clean energy and sustainable agriculture in an effort to promote macroeconomic stability and a healthy planet.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Investing
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National Microfinance Bank to digitize agricultural sector in Tanzania
National Microfinance Bank Pic (NMB) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Mastercard to ensure the digitization of the agricultural sector in Tanzania with the roll-out of eKilimo, a mobile solution developed by the Mastercard Lab for Financial Inclusion.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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This Superfood Fuels Social Good
Lisa Curtis learned about moringa, the tall leafy plant that she's trying to push as America’s next super food craze, while working as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small, rural village in Niger, West Africa. Food was scarce and Curtis, a vegetarian, felt constantly tired. So when some people in the village suggested she eat the tree’s leaves, she decided to try it.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Impact Assessment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How to Stop Wasting Food … and Feed the World
Productivity isn't the only variable in the effort to increase the world's food supply; one-third of all food gets lost or wasted. Science for Society Techno Services claims its solar conduction dryer increases the shelf life of perishable produce by six to 12 months, and the firm even buys processed food from farmers and takes their dehydrated produce to market.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology