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Rural Children in India Have Better Immunization Rates
Contrary to earlier studies, children in rural India have higher vaccinationrates than those in cities and Hindu kids are more likely to get their shots than Muslims, researchers from a leading American university have said.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- vaccines
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Smile, The Pan-African Wireless ISP, Has Raised $365 Million to Expand Its Network
Three years after launching Africa’s first 4G LTE services in Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria, Smile Telecoms has raised $365 million.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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German Startup Franchises Biogas Bag Business in Africa
German social enterprise B-Energy has developed portable “digester” bags that produce methane gas out of food waste or animal droppings, which can help low-income entrepreneurs in the global South make a living through a franchise model, BBC Newsreports.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy
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Indiegogo Is Getting Ready for Equity Crowdfunding
When Facebook announced in March 2014 that it was acquiring virtual-reality pioneer Oculus VR for $2 billion, the news caused jaws to drop throughout the tech industry. It also left at least a few of the 9,522 people who had contributed to Oculus’s Kickstarter campaign less than two years earlier grumbling that they should be cut in on the windfall.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- crowdfunding
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In South Africa’s Poor Townships, Social Entrepreneurs Are Creating a Food Delivery Service
People who live a long way from grocery stores pay more for food because they have to travel there and back, which costs money, and they waste more time doing it. That's why two social entrepreneurs from Cape Town, South Africa, have come up with Lakheni, a group buying club that aggregates orders, with local daycare centers serving as a base.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Unitus Seed Fund Expands Its India StartHealth Investment Program
Unitus Seed Fund, the leading impact venture seed fund investing in startups innovating for the masses in India, announced that it is doubling down on its StartHealth investing initiative targeting investments of INR 15 crore in 6 new early-stage health technology startups. With partners such as Pfizer, PATH, Manipal Hospitals and Narayana Health, the StartHealth program provides flexible funding, expert support, and mentorship as well as access to healthcare facilities to accelerate the go-to-market path for promising startups. Unitus also announced that Dr. Ashwin Naik, founder of Vaatsalya hospitals, will be joining as a healthcare fund advisor to help support healthcare entrepreneurs invested in by Unitus. Separately, StartHealth participant UE LifeSciences announced earlier this week that it has raised a INR 19.5 crore Series A investment round led by Aarin Capital.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Viewpoint: Why India’s Department of Post Should Be Restructured for Financial Inclusion and Efficiency
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently gave a licence to India Post to function as a payments bank. Does it change anything for the people? Post offices in India have already been working as payments banks. Individuals open accounts, deposit and withdraw money by cash or cheques and receive payments through them. All these transactions are meticulously recorded manually in their passbook. Post offices do not provide any loans or carry out any credit transaction. This has been in operation for more than a century and much before the RBI came into existence. So, what would change after the RBI’s licence?
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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OPINION: India’s health ministry gets a sanitary-napkin machine—but there’s just one problem
India’s union ministry of health and family welfare installed four vending machines to dispense sanitary napkins in the ladies’ washrooms of its New Delhi office. In a country where millions of women still do not use sanitary napkins—and rely on old, unhygienic rags for their monthly cycle—initiatives like these are very welcome. ... But ...
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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