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Reinventing the toilet
Traditional flush toilets aren’t an option in many parts of the world, but neither is leaving people with unsafe and unhygenic choices. Now, one company is piloting a new loo that's waterless, off-grid and able to charge your phone. Lina Zeldovich travels to Madagascar to witness the start of a lavatorial revolution.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health, SDGs
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‘One size fits all’ investing is limiting innovations in East Africa and India
The reality is different. Despite all of the hype, most startups in India and East Africa are failing to attract the investment capital they need to grow and scale. For example, although startup investment in East Africa is at an all-time high, in the past two years 72 percent of venture capital went to only three startups. The vast majority of startups in these regions are not being given a fair shot.
- Categories
- Investing
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Yes, microlending reduces extreme poverty
Currently, 836 million people – or 12% of the world’s population – experience extreme poverty, living off less than US$1.25 a day. Using data from 106 developing countries from between 1998 and 2013 to examine the efficacy of microlending as a poverty-reduction tool, I found that just a 10% increase in the gross microfinance loan portfolio per client could cut this number by 1.26%.
- Categories
- Investing
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Commentary: The Surprising Resilience of Cash Transactions
While Singapore, the Netherlands, France, Sweden and Switzerland are among the least cash reliant countries, in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Egypt, only 1 per cent of transactions are cashless. Even some highly advanced countries, such as Japan, are still highly reliant on cash.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- digital payments
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MobiCash Launches MobiSpaza in South Africa
The new platform is a spaza sector-focused mobile platform and is an inclusive business tool that builds bridges between spaza sector stakeholders, such as private corporations, state-owned entities, co-operatives, and not-for-profit organizations, and the township communities they serve.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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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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India turns to the private sector to bring health care to underserved areas
Public health care institutions — ranging from primary health centers that form the backbone of the system in rural areas to larger district-level hospitals — are hampered by a lack of manpower and inadequate resources such as diagnostics, pathology services and stock-outs. As a result, most people rely on the private sector for health care, which provides almost 80 percent of outpatient and 60 percent of inpatient care.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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