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Zidisha Helps Connect Lenders With Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries
Zidisha is a non-profit startup that acts as an online microlending community connecting lenders with entrepreneurs no matter the distance or disparity. As of right now, Zidisha allows individuals worldwide to lend to tech-savvy entrepreneurs in the slums of Africa and Asia where even a few dollars can go a long way. Over 20,000 people are using Zidisha today. Recently, I spoke with Zidisha founder and CEO Julia Kurnia to learn more about the company.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Hong Kong VC Firm Nest Expands to Nairobi to Support Continent’s Talents
Hong Kong VC and incubation firm Nest has recently announced its expansion into Africa, connecting local talent with Asian investors abroad.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Pharma Price Control Has Stunted Innovation, Study Finds
Consumers may be happy at a cut in medicine bills but the government's price control measures have forced many brands out of the "unviable" pharmaceutical market, resulting in a drastic slowdown in new launches in the last five years.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- vaccines
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Impact Investing Needs a Better Way to Measure Impact
In places where electricity is scarce or unreliable, kerosene lamps are a standard lighting source—but the fumes from burning kerosene pollute the air and kill 1.6 million people each year. D.Light Design, a private company based in San Francisco, manufactures inexpensive solar-powered lamps and sells them cheaply around the world. It is safe, reliable, and renewable energy available for about the same cost as a few candles. D.Light believes that it’s not only reducing pollution, but also improving health, safety, and performance—in school, productivity, and income.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
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Press Release: UNAIDS Announces Goal of 15M People on Life-Saving HIV Treatment by 2015 Has Been Met 9 Months Early
The AIDS targets of MDG 6—halting and reversing the spread of HIV—have been achieved and exceeded, according to a new report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). New HIV infections have fallen by 35% and AIDS-related deaths by 41%. The global response to HIV has averted 30 million new HIV infections and nearly 8 million (7.8 million) AIDS-related deaths since 2000, when the MDGs were set.
- Categories
- Health Care
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GSK and Save the Children Launch 2015 Call for Developing Country Healthcare Innovations to Reduce Child Deaths
GSK and Save the Children today announced the launch of their third annual $1 million Healthcare Innovation Award that rewards innovations in healthcare that have helped to reduce child deaths in developing countries.
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- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
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How Companies Should Respond As Social Business Goes Global
Social business has been known as a systemically defined business practice for tackling poverty and is blossoming in every corner of the globe including China, the world’s second largest economy.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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As #FFD3 Kicks Off in Addis, Civil Society Raises Red Flags
Development finance is entering a new era, and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, civil society representatives remain unconvinced the new world of development cooperation holds more promise for the world’s poor than the old one.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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