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Viewpoint: Bitcoin Investment Has Neglected the Developing World
indesk, the leading Bitcoin news site, stated in its latest quarterly report (The State of Bitcoin and Blockchain) that one of the most heralded areas of bitcoin disruption, “banking for the unbanked” has been the most disappointing area of interest when it comes to investment. Only 0.12 percent of Bitcoin investment has gone to Africa. Of course, this seems to fly in the face of the assertions, which you won’t miss in the various Bitcoin forums as well as news sites, that Bitcoin is the technology that the poor in the developing world have been waiting to afford them cheap financial services. According to Michael Fraser, reporting leader at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAAZ):
- Categories
- Technology
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Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Join the Fight to Stop Zika Virus
The rapid spread of the Zika virus has raised interest in a British company that has developed a genetically modified mosquito. Oxitec has produced a genetically engineered line of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the mosquito that carries dengue fever and chikungunya. Those tropical diseases have become common in Latin America and are now showing up in Florida.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America
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‘We Need New Managers for Today’s Challenges – Business Schools Can Deliver Them’
As countries step up efforts to address increasingly complex social and environmental challenges, they will lean strongly on the business sector to play its part and contribute to finding solutions. Business education will be key to create understanding among future business leaders about this new business environment, and build the skills to operate in it. This message came through strongly in a discussion among over 60 business education leaders from 29 countries gathered at the Sofitel Chain Bridge Hotel in Budapest to shed light on the role of business schools in sustainable development across the globe.
- Source
- Press Release
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Merck launches equity-free e-health accelerator in Nairobi
Global science and technology firm Merck has launched its equity-free e-health accelerator programme in Nairobi, Kenya, aimed at fostering the growth of high potential, early-stage e-health startups.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Murmurs of a Fresh Crisis in India’s Microfinance Sector
The questions of microfinance, overlending and women’s suicides are cropping up all over again. The murmurs have been going on for a while, broadly indicating that the hotspots have shifted to eastern Uttar Pradesh and some other pockets.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Viewpoint: 3 Ingredients to Ensure Health and Well-Being for All in Emerging Economies
As part of society, all of us — including companies — have an obligation to contribute to the positive state of the world. There is great opportunity in aligning business objectives with societal challenges and to create business solutions that generate both financial as well as lasting social impact. For example, Sustainable Development Goal 3, achieving healthy lives for all, is a major global challenge that needs to be addressed, and even more so in emerging economies where access to quality, affordable health care is not a given. But this challenge is not insurmountable.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- SDGs
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Powerhive Is Bringing Clean Energy to the Developing World—With Prepaid Solar
The remote village of Monomoni, Kenya, is too far from cities and too sparsely populated to be part of the national grid. Now, however, it's possible for a family of cow herders or a small business to buy prepaid solar power through a mobile phone.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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India sets an example in subsidised TB diagnosis
There is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy TB scenario in India. Of the 12 high-burden countries where the private sector is a major player in providing health care, the Indian private sector offers the cheapest price for the WHO-approved Xpert MTB/RIF, a molecular test for diagnosing TB. India also has the highest number of private labs offering the test, with 113 labs offering it at a subsidised rate.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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