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U.S. Government’s Development Finance Institution, OPIC, Announces $50 Million Investment in Impact Investing Pioneer Root Capital
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, announced today a renewed commitment to agricultural impact investor Root Capital. OPIC’s commitment, an increase to a $50 million financing facility, is Root Capital’s largest source of funding, and will significantly support Root Capital’s established on-lending program to rural, underserved businesses in Latin America and Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity Announces Winners of 2015 Scaling Competition and Launches 2016 Competition
The MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity today awarded five companies more than US$10.6 million to bolster their innovative work to alleviate poverty by increasing access to financial services for poor people in rural Africa. The five companies introduced imaginative thinking in their approach to scaling up financial inclusion – the increase in access to services such as mobile banking, savings accounts, insurance and credit – for the benefit of nearly eight million people in remote parts of Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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An inflection point in the era of “farmer finance” for the world’s smallholders
A new study, “Inflection Point: Unlocking growth in the era of farmer finance,” suggests that while current efforts to expand financial inclusion are not sufficient to meet smallholder demand, concerted efforts around customer centricity, progressive partnerships, and smart subsidy have the potential to change the sector’s growth trajectory to best serve the world’s smallholder farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Mobile Drought Insurance to Protect Africa’s Farmers
A mobile insurance scheme to help small-scale farmers in Kenya ensure their agricultural produce against drought and other natural disasters is spreading to other parts of Africa, as Neil Ford explains.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kenyan Government-backed Insurance to Cushion Farmers Against Poor Harvests
Farmers are set to benefit from a government-backed insurance plan with seven underwriters offering a cover against poor yields.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Ethical Business Actions and Poverty Reduction
Poverty alleviation is the main concern of many countries. Poverty is said to be an economic, social, cultural, political and moral phenomenon. Like the issue, its solutions are multi-faceted. It requires a collective action from governments, corporations, citizens, consumers, workers, investors and educators.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Mercy Corps, MasterCard Foundation Launch Program to Boost Access to Financial, Informational Services for Smallholder Farmers in Kenya
New AgriFin Accelerate initiative to address barriers to access and use of financial services, especially for young women and youth.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A New Kind of Irrigation Could Boost African Farming—and It’s Powered by the Sun
Pioneered in Israel, drip irrigation saves water and fertilizer by delivering droplets of water to the base of plants. But off-the-grid farmers aren't able to use the technology without expensive diesel generators.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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