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More Than Lighting: Women Entrepreneurs Turn Solar Technology Into Opportunity
The entrepreneurs at Solar Sister, a social enterprise that uses networks of local women to directly sell solar lanterns in remote areas, aren't just lighting homes, they're transforming what rural Tanzanians do at home when it’s dark. Among the benefits they bring to communities they serve are more time for education, reduced health risks, increased productivity and larger household incomes.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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d.light partners with microfinance institution Musoni for off-grid solar in Kenya
D.light’s managing director for Africa, Jacob Okoth, said that the partnership made perfect sense for the two companies, as they target the same customer segment. Musoni works to expand financial outreach in rural areas and d.light’s mission is to continue to work towards rural electrification.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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New Job Board Feature – FREE Access to NextBillion’s 100,000 Twitter Audience
NextBillion's job board is one of the most active career resources in the social business and global development space – and it's one of the most popular features on the site. We're making it better by tweeting out all new job posts to our fast-growing Twitter audience of approximately 100,000 – for free. To post a job ad, or find a career with impact, visit the job board today.
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How Oil, Coal and Wal-Mart Became Part of ‘Socially Responsible’ ETFs
As demand for do-gooder investing increases, particularly among women and millennials, fund managers are retooling their lineups to include diversified funds that appeal to a wider audience.
- Region
- North America
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Nigeria Seeks $5.2 Billion From World Bank for Electricity
Africa’s most populous nation produces about 4,000 megawatts of power compared with a average peak generation of about 35,000 megawatts in South Africa, with a population that’s less than a third of the size of Nigeria’s 180 million people. The lack of supply increases production costs for many businesses forced to provide their own electricity, mostly using diesel-run generators.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Solar power: A shot in the arm for India’s health centers
Nearly 35 million people in rural India relied on un-electrified primary health centers as of 2015, according to government data. One in every two primary health centers has no electricity or suffers from power outages, putting baby deliveries, paediatric emergencies and cold storage of vaccines at risk, among other vital health services. Renewable energy sources like solar power provide an opportunity to work around the challenges that accompany a lack of electricity.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- renewable energy, vaccines
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Solar lamp social enterprise mulls manufacturing plant in Kenya
The firm produces solar products that charge phone devices and provide power to homes, using off-grid systems. Nathaniel Peat the firms’ Co – Founder, says Kenya has become an important market for them having already invested Sh26.4 million in the market.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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Dear Critics: Here’s Why the Off-grid Energy Industry Needs Impact Investment
Off-grid lighting trade organization GOGLA responds to a recent post from Ceniarth critical of "hype" in the energy access sector. Consider the off-grid market within the context of the wider world and economy around it, say John Keane and Laura Sundblad, and remember that millions of households around the globe live with unreliable, dangerous, inadequate and ultimately extremely expensive means of lighting and basic energy.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
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