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How microcredit can help poor countries after natural disasters
BOTH, in different ways, worry about liquidity. And global warming may, indeed, be bringing meteorologists and financiers together. On January 18th, VisionFund, a microlending charity, and Global Parametrics, a venture that crunches climate and seismic data, launched what they billed as the “world’s largest non-governmental climate-insurance programme”. The scheme will offer microfinance to about 4m people across six countries in Asia and Africa affected by climate-change-related calamities.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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Press release: MIX and One Acre Fund Launch Smallholder Finance Product Explorer
MIX and One Acre Fund announced the launch of the Smallholder Finance Product Explorer, a new, centralized directory where the agricultural finance industry can, for the first time, access detailed information on existing smallholder finance products. The goal of this new resource, which is available through the popular MIX Market platform, is to make accessible operationally useful information in order to inspire the development of new financial products for smallholder farmers and improve existing ones.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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For India’s Farmers It’s Agtech Startups, Not Government, That Is Key
It’s been quite a challenge in recent decade in Indian agriculture, starved of financial resources and continuing neglect by the government, and is likely to become more difficult over the next few decades as weather patterns, available water and growing seasons shift further.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- agtech, climate change, data, startups
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Press release: Largest Non-Governmental Climate Insurance Program Launches for African & Asian Smallholder Farmers
Over 690,000 families totalling up to four million people living in six low-income countries stand to benefit from a new climate insurance programme launched today by VisionFund International, World Vision’s microfinance arm and Global Parametrics, a new venture funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and by the InsuResilience Investment Fund, set up by German development bank KfW and managed by Swiss-based impact investment manager BlueOrchard Finance. Financing for the initial preparation and assessment required to implement the programme came from the Rockefeller Foundation and FMO, the Dutch development bank.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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As wild weather hits crops, Ethiopian women turn to savings
Increasingly erratic rain and recurring dry spells have slashed harvests and killed livestock in swathes of Ethiopia, raising fears of increased food insecurity.
Women often bear the brunt of such climate pressures, experts say, particularly as they usually have less power over their lives and are chiefly responsible for feeding their families.- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How This Chinese Fintech Company Is Innovating by Leasing Cows
While global investors have often honed in on China’s booming urban centers, Chinese financial tech firms are beginning to look at the middle kingdom’s increasingly affluent rural, farming-based consumers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech, rural development
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Crowdfarming is being used to bring Somalia’s livestock market into the digital economy
In 2017 alone, livestock loss has ranged from 20%-40% in the southern regions and 40%-60% in the north, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. This threatens the livelihood of the animal farmers and hinders their ability to regularly trade in markets.
But a Sweden-based startup wants to change this by creating a tech-powered livestock market that is open all year round.- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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To address hunger effectively, first check the weather, says new study
Too little rain, or too much, is often a driver of poverty and hunger, leading to poor nutrition and food insecurity among vulnerable populations. According to a new study, rainfall patterns also provide clues on how to most effectively alleviate food insecurity.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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