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When ‘Hibernation’ Is Not an Option: How a Small Business in India Fought to Stay Alive During the Pandemic
Soon after the COVID-19 lockdown started, Lal10 – a social enterprise that connects India’s indigenous artisans to formal markets – faced cratering demand for its standard products, like saris and other textiles. As Sachi Shenoy at Upaya Social Ventures explains, in order to survive, the company essentially had to start over. She explores how Lal10 managed to quickly pivot to meet the intense demand for personal protective equipment, while continuing to connect its artisans to dignified work – and building a more efficient company in the process.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise
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Preparing for Life After COVID-19: How India’s Healthcare System Can Better Respond to Future Shocks
India’s public healthcare system was tested by the onset of COVID-19. Now that a vaccine promises to bring the end phase of the pandemic (gradually) into sight, Puneet Khanduja and Mitul Thapliyal at MicroSave (MSC) say it’s time to make the system more robust, to better absorb such shocks in the future. They share research that MSC conducted with low-income households in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar, and make recommendations to improve the healthcare system's preparedness for the next crisis.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
- Tags
- COVID-19
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Press Release: OPEC Fund Supports Post-COVID-19 African Infrastructure With $50 Million Loan to Africa Finance Corporation
The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) have signed a $50 million loan agreement to help finance and build infrastructure needed for Africa’s post-COVID recovery. This represents the first direct financing co-operation between the two institutions.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: COVID-19 Exposed the Digital Divide. Here’s How We Can Close It
In 2020, the world embraced digital transformation at an expedited pace, reimagining technology’s critical role in how we work, learn and live. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a long-standing issue: billions of people remain without the universal human right of internet access.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education
- Tags
- edtech
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Analysis: Humanitarian Crises Monitoring: Coronavirus in Developing Countries: Secondary Impacts
Developing countries face disastrous healthcare setbacks, hunger and huge international debt as covid-19’s ‘final wave.’
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
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Viewpoint: Why 2021 Can and Should Be the Year for Breakthrough Collaboration
Spiralling COVID-19 infections and deaths, economic turmoil and political instability have continued unabated into 2021, further rattling our economies and societies. Last year has left us in no doubt that global systems, already under strain at the start of the pandemic, are broken. Failing to meet the SDGs, widening inequality and climate breakdown are just some of the symptoms of our crisis-stricken world.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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A Silver Lining During the Pandemic: Three Financial Inclusion Success Stories in the Age of COVID-19
COVID-19 has had a dramatic negative impact on businesses across practically all sectors. When it comes to financial inclusion, the pandemic has sparked concerns about a widening digital divide, rising gender inequality, growing skepticism over informal financial practices, and the risk of overlooking financially vulnerable customers. But as Anshul Saxena at MSC points out, the crisis has also generated some encouraging success stories. He highlights three businesses that have found ways to thrive during the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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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