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Can Coffee Kick-Start an Economy?
When he set out to wedge his coffee onto supermarket shelves in England and America, Andrew Rugasira didn’t start by making phone calls from his home in Kampala, Uganda. He didn’t begin by sending e-mails. The distance seemed too great for that. At one end of his business were farmers who, until he came along, thought their beans were purchased and carried off to make gunpowder. At the other were buyers at the corporate headquarters of chains like Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, Whole Foods and Wal-Mart. If he was going to succeed, he felt he would have to do it physically; it was as if he believed he could stretch himself to span the divide between the two worlds. So he got on a plane to London, without trying any advance contact.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Villgro Innovation Marketing Raises Seed Capital
Chennai based Villgro Innovation Marketing Private (VIM), an innovative rural distribution company, has raised a significant seed series investment from US-based investment firm Unitus Seed Fund and a group of angel investors to further expand its operations in South India.
- Source
- Press Release
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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Microinsurance in Rapid Expansion Says ILO, Munich Re Report
According to the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labor Organizationand the Munich Re Foundation, “the number of microinsurance schemes worldwide has increased substantially over the past five years and now reaches an estimated 500 million worldwide.”
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Intel Releases Rugged Education Tablet for the Developing World
Intel has launched the latest device in its line of classroom computers: a tablet, Intel studybook.The Intel studybook is built to be both a rigorous education tool and a sturdy playmate. It comes loaded with Intel’s Learning Series software, including an interactive ereader and LabCam applications.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Tony Elumelu Foundation, Co-Creation Hub in Partnership to Give Social Technology Entrepreneurs Boost
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), an institution dedicated to the promotion and celebration of excellence in business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa, is partnering with Co-Creation Hub Nigeria (CcHub), Nigeria’s first open living lab and pre-incubation space dedicated to catalysing creative social technology ventures, in an effort to encourage innovative ideas that could help transform the social technology space in Nigeria.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Microfinance Giant Launches Venture Capital Fund For East Africa
Accion, an international microfinance and investment firm, has launched Venture Lab, a $10 million investment vehicle which will provide seed capital and management support to financial inclusion startups worldwide, with a particular focus on East Africa and India.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Study: OLPC Fails Students as a Tool for Education
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program of low-cost laptops for developing countries has not led to any measurable impact in academic achievement, according to a recent report.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Tackling the Challenges of Urban Sanitation: A Social Enterprise Model
A micro franchise initiative founded by SC Johnson in Nairobi aims to improve levels of sanitation in low-income communities.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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