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A Light in the Darkness
Some mountainous parts of Mexico are so remote that the electricity grid fails to reach them, let alone the banking system. A five-year-old social enterprise, Iluméxico, hopes to change that. It provides more than 20,000 people with loans to buy low-cost solar panels and batteries, enabling them to switch lights on, watch television and charge mobile phones, sometimes for the first time.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Latin America
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Now, ATM-Like Machines to Dispense Free Medicine
Taking free medicine distribution to the next level, state health department will soon introduce automated medicine dispensing machines. Similar to ATMs, the new and unique machines will be able to recognize prescriptions and dispense medicines.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Burning Bridges by Building Bridges
Do you remember the old folk song that goes, “ako ang nagtanim at nagbayo at nagsaing, subalit nang maluto ay iba ang kumain” (I planted, pounded and cooked my own rice, but some other guy ate it)? It is not exactly the same story for the farmers, but it is certainly how they still feel.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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New Tools Deliver Medical Diagnoses, Fast, Cheap and in the Field
Reliable electricity is a rare commodity in some parts of Guinea, which means some traditional medical equipment often is useless. So researchers there are using a new tool to identify Ebola cases: a portable diagnostic machine that fits in a suitcase and runs on a solar battery.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Rwanda’s Clinics Have Gone Off-Grid and Onto Renewable Energy
Rwanda is located in the poorest region in the world, sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, it is making advances with off-grid renewable energy solutions for rural areas that could be a model for similar economies.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Buyout Firm Vital Plans $500 Million Africa Fund As Demand Booms
Private equity firm Vital Capital Investments LP is planning a $500 million investment fund that will focus on African industries overlooked by competitors.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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Finger-Prick, Blood Test for Ebola Takes Just Minutes
Public health officials may soon be able to screen patients for Ebola at border crossings and hospitals with a finger-prick blood test that takes mere minutes.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: FINCA Surpasses $1 Million in Loans to Microenterprise and Small Businesses in Nigeria in First Six Months
FINCA's newest subsidiary, FINCA Microfinance Bank Ltd. in Nigeria, surpassed USD 1 million in small loans to microenterprise and small business owners within its first six months of operation, it was announced today by President & CEO Rupert Scofield during his remarks at the Spring meeting of the Financial Inclusion Equity Council (FIEC), hosted this year by FINCA at its headquarters building in Washington, DC.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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