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World Bank Group to Deploy $160 Billion for COVID-19 Interventions
The Bank expects to deploy up to $160 billion over 15 months through June 2021 to support countries’ responses to COVID-19.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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African Tech Startups Raise Over $700 Million in 2020 Despite Pandemic
African tech startups raised more funding from more investors than ever before in 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Innovation for Adaptation: How a New Fund Is Helping Service Providers Navigate the Challenges of COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 has been amplified at the local level in Kenya and Rwanda, where non-profit service providers working with vulnerable populations are finding it more difficult to support their beneficiaries. Michael Kiema and Linda Ndungu Wambua at Instiglio explore learnings from the COVID-19 Adaptation Fund, which is providing funding to nine qualifying service providers to help them implement innovations that will support their efforts to serve beneficiaries during the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Covid-19: Africa Secures About 300 Million Vaccine Doses
300 million doses are being secured independently of the global COVAX effort aimed at distributing Covid-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Tentative Recovery: Survey Data Shows Signs of Progress – and Warnings of Future Distress – Among Kenyan Farmers During COVID-19
It’s estimated that over 50 million people are in need of immediate food assistance in the Horn, East and Central Africa. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into 2021, Kenyan farmers’ ability to weather this crisis is at the heart of the region’s recovery, say Venu Aggarwal and Kelsey Jarrett at 60 Decibels. They share data 60 Decibels has collected from thousands of Kenyan farmers, revealing both slight improvements since the early days of the crisis, and the danger of more severe, longer-term financial distress.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus
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SME Health Providers in Five African Countries Get US $30 Million Funding From Health Finance Coalition
Private and small- and medium enterprise (SME) health providers in five high malaria burden African countries are set to benefit from a new emergency loan guarantee facility of more than USD$30 million under the Open Doors African Private Healthcare Initiative
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
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Ensuring That Women’s Financial Access Is Not Another Casualty of COVID-19: The Value of Agent Banking
As COVID-19 continues to ravage global economies, the existing gender-poverty gap is set to widen: UN Women projects that for every 100 men aged 25-34 in extreme poverty due to the pandemic, 118 women of the same age will be living in extreme poverty this year. Peris Mburu at FSD Africa explores why agent banking is a promising solution to this growing challenge – and how its benefits can extend beyond access to finance.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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MSME E-Commerce Enabler Shopmatic Sees 40% Revenue Growth Amid COVID; Aims to Turn Cash Positive in 2021
Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Shopmatic had acquired CombineSell in October 2019 and Octopus Retail Management in March 2019 while it had partnered with PayU, OnlineSales.ai, United Overseas Bank - Singapore, and CIMB Bank - Malaysia to help SMEs enhance their omnichannel presence.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Asia Pacific