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Illuminating the developing world’s “invisible” consumers
Texting-based surveys capture purchasing and behavior data from people living in remote areas.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Unitus fund’s latest StartHealth winners spotlight rise of medical tech innovation in India
Unitus Seed Fund, one of India's best-known impact venture funds that backs early-stage startups innovating for the masses, has named two winners of its StartHealth startup contest, which show medical tech innovation is taking off in India.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Malawi opens drone testing corridor for humanitarian efforts
The air corridor is a result of the partnership with the UN's children's agency and officials say it opens up the possibility for "potential humanitarian" drone use in the southeast African country.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Blockchains Could Revolutionize International Aid
It’s this sort of problem–a lack of traceability in aid–that encouraged Thompson to develop a system to transfer and track international development payments. AID:Tech is one of several startups working with blockchain technology, trying to ensure more funds go where they’re supposed to go. “Transparency is really needed in aid and welfare payments because there’s not a functioning system that works globally,” he says.
- Categories
- Technology
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Bridging financial inclusion with technology is key
Sonny Singh, Senior VP and GM of Oracle's Financial Services Global Business Unit, tells Anup Jayaram how the company is helping facilitate digital banking in India.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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The Race to Solar-Power Africa
The spread of cell phones in the region has made it possible for residents to pay daily or weekly bills using mobile money, and now the hope is that, just as cell phones bypassed the network of telephone lines, solar panels will enable many rural consumers to bypass the electric grid. From Ghana, I travelled to Ivory Coast, and then to Tanzania, and along the way I encountered a variety of new solar ventures, most of them American-led. Some, such as Ghana’s Black Star Energy, which had electrified Daban, install solar microgrids, small-scale versions of the giant grid Americans are familiar with. Others, such as Off-Grid Electric, in Tanzania and Ivory Coast, market home-based solar systems that run on a panel installed on each individual house.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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New finance for old (technology) problems? Saving the planet with better cook stoves
Research attempting to answer this question has mainly focused on the cook’s household, finding that factors such as income, education, and access to credit limit adoption and sustained use. But this demand-driven narrative ignores the other side of the equation: the producers and distributors. Increasing awareness by both practitioners and the policy community has led to growing calls for a new focus on stove supply barriers and innovative policy tools to increase ICS sales.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
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Innovation Prize for Africa recognizes Lakheni
A South African initiative that uses group buying power to lower food prices for needy communities, using a mobile app, has been nominated for the continental prize.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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