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USAID head to step down
The administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development says he will step down in mid-February. Rajiv Shah, who has led USAID for five years, said in a statement that the agency is answering President Obama's call to end extreme poverty across the globe.
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Here’s How Much the Next Ebola Will Cost Us
The global community cannot withstand another Ebola outbreak: The World Bank estimates the two-year financial burden price tag of the current epidemic at $32.6 billion. Unfortunately, the virus has revealed gaping holes in our preparedness for major infectious disease epidemics. Because of these, plus the urbanization of rural communities and globalization of travel and trade, more of these epidemics are expected.
- Categories
- Health Care
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State Bank of India to Provide Mobile Financial Services to Underserved
Amdocs, a provider of customer experience products, today announced the selection of its mobile financial services product in association with Triotech's product, which will enable State Bank of India to offer mobile financial services to India's unbanked and underbanked population, using the mobile network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. The solution will be delivered under a five-year services contract, according to a press release.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Ebola: UN Says Health Workers in Sierra Leone to Receive Hazard Pay Using Mobile Money
Response workers battling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will receive “hazard pay” for the first time in Sierra Leone using mobile money because “unless there is a certain element of incentives, or danger pay, it’s very difficult to attract and retain people,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced today.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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2014 in Impact Investing: The Big Bang and its Aftermath
Impact investing reached and surpassed the tipping point in 2014, ceasing to be an insiders' game.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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PRESS RELEASE: Corporate Commitment to Impact Investing Will Reach Record Heights in 2015
Madeira Global, a premier New York-based investment and advisory firm servicing qualified investors and institutions in the area of Impact Investing, today released its 2015 Impact Outlook for the marketplace. The firm asserts that corporate commitment to impact investing is set to reach record heights in 2015 due to the combination of heightened corporate social responsibility programs and a return to the laws of fundamental investing into companies with strong environmental, social and governance practices. The milestones seen in 2014, such as Prudential committing to build a $1 billion impact investment portfolio by 2020, will serve as precursors to the 2015 impact investment landscape.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing
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SunEdison, IFC, OFID, and CABEI Close $146M Financing for Solar PV Projects in Honduras Totaling 81.7 MW
SunEdison Inc. (Belmont, CA, US) on December 15th, 2014 announced the closing of an approximately USD 146 million non-recourse debt financing arrangement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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Cabs for Women, by Women: Could Ola Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
G-cabs, one of the taxi companies operating in Gurgaon lists the following as a perk of availing their services: "A Panic button, at both the passenger's and chauffeur's end- assuring a safe journey." In the aftermath of the Uber rape case, this seems like an extremely helpful feature for a taxi service to have. However, what it also points out is that some of the solutions women are looking for in terms of safe travel are already available - at least on paper. There are at least four cab operators in the NCR region which offer women-only services - Vira, Priyadarshini, G-cabs, Sakha - however, people still tend to resort to services like Ola and Uber. A report on The Times of India today points out that Ola cabs now plan to make their services more women-friendly by launching a line of 'by women, for women' cabs. The move comes after threats of banning cab aggregating services like those of Uber and Ola.
- Categories
- Transportation
- Tags
- transportation
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