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Interview: Building Resilience by Shortening Supply Chains
Oumar Barou Togola is founder and executive chair of Farafena, a Vancouver-based social enterprise that imports and sells grain, flour and other food products grown by women farmers in the African nations of Mali and Malawi.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Digital Access Matters: The Benefits of Bringing High-Speed Internet To Low-Income Communities During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has led people around the world to work and shop from home – but as Dirk-Jan Koeman and Kara Ing at Poa Internet point out, this is easier for some than others. For instance, in densely-populated urban areas in Kenya, the lack of high-speed internet makes working from home almost impossible. They discuss how Poa is bringing these households online, and share research on how these newly connected customers are using the internet.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Press Release: VisionSpring Launches Ergonomic and Affordable Handwashing Stations: To Be Available Across India
VisionSpring (www.visionspring.org), the pioneering social enterprise working with a mission to provide clear vision to all through eyeglasses, announced the launch of ergonomic and affordable handwashing stations across India to provide easy access to hand hygiene for hospitals and healthcare providers, NGOs, CSRs, Government, schools, transport hubs, and workplaces and factories. The launch comes as there is a gradual attempt by the Government towards the restoration of normalcy in India while it still grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Technology, WASH
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: The United Nations, 75 Years Young: Engaging Youth Social Entrepreneurs To Accelerate the SDGs
This year, the United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary – a milestone of extraordinary economic and social progress in Asia and the Pacific. While the Organization enjoys a lifespan almost equal to the world’s improved average life expectancy, the future lies with those who have recently embarked on theirs: our young people.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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A Phone Can Only Do So Much: Why Mobile Access Isn’t Leading To Digital Financial Service Usage Among Women in India
India has made significant progress in financial inclusion in recent years. However low-income working women are not benefiting from this momentum, even when they receive their wages digitally. To better understand why, BSR’s HERproject and MSC have researched the financial behaviors of female garment workers in India. Akhand Tiwari at MSC and James Steady at BSR explore the results, and discuss how the financial inclusion sector should respond.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing
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Press Release: Impact Investors With Social Enterprises: The European Social Innovation and Impact Fund Launches After a Successful First Closing
It is more important than ever before to support the ramp-up of social innovation and boost investments into early-stage social enterprises. The European Social Innovation and Impact Fund (ESIIF) will immediately strengthen impact investing in the European Union, helping to ensure that outstanding impact business models are poised to scale sustainably.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Viewpoint: The Race Against Economic Inequality Within Emerging Markets – a Case for SMEs
One of the great challenges of the 21st Century is the need to reduce poverty levels and economic inequality globally. Economic growth is the most powerful tool for reducing poverty and improving the quality of life in developing countries.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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How Tech Investors in Africa Coped With the Changes Enforced by COVID-19
Last week’s virtual Africa Tech Summit Connects event brought together a host of African tech investors to discuss trends, challenges and opportunities in the wake of COVID-19, and all agreed that the way they do business has been altered by the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa