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Microsoft, Accenture Join to Provide Tech Support to Social Enterprise Startups
Through the programme, Microsoft Research India and Accenture Labs will help social enterprise startups test and validate proof-of-concepts, conduct design thinking sessions to help them re-envision the impact of their solutions, and provide support in exploring and using Microsoft technologies.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
- Tags
- startups
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Visa Champions a New Decade for Women’s Empowerment
Kicking off Women’s History Month, Visa today announced two new partnerships bolstering the company’s commitment to women’s economic empowerment. Hand In Hand International and IFundWomen will join Visa to help provide both educational resources and funding for women entrepreneurs around the globe to help them build and grow their businesses. The global rate of female entrepreneurship has been increasing more quickly than that of male entrepreneurs, with more than 250 million women around the world engaged in entrepreneurship.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- philanthropy
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Quona Capital Closes Second Fund with $203 Million Aimed at Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets
Quona Capital, a venture firm focused on financial inclusion in emerging markets, today announced the final close of the Accion Quona Inclusion Fund. The Fund closed with $203 million in commitments from an array of leading investors including global asset managers and insurance companies, investment and commercial banks, as well as university endowments, foundations, family offices, and development finance institutions, significantly exceeding its $150 million target. Quona leverages a strategic relationship with Accion, a nonprofit financial inclusion pioneer, which is the Fund’s sponsor, general partner, and anchor investor.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Coming Soon – Mondato Summit Africa 2020: Beyond Access – Generating Value Through Digital Inclusion
Advisory firm Mondato, in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Mozambique and the Mozambican telecoms regulator, ARECOM, will host its seventh annual digital finance and fintech executive conference, Mondato Summit Africa, in Maputo, Mozambique, on March 31st and April 1st.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Microsoft, Accenture join to provide tech support to social enterprise startups
Intending to help deepen the reach of entrepreneurs and start-ups that are focused on social impact and sustainability, the joint initiative by Microsoft and Accenture aims to provide hands-on support and technologies to social enterprises, helping them build scalable solutions and business models that can lead to more tangible and lasting benefits.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- startups
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Many Small Foundations Wary of Impact Investing
Many small foundations are skeptical of impact investing, with 38 percent saying it will hurt returns, 36 percent saying they lack the capacity to do it, and 32 percent citing worries about risk, according to a new survey. The report from Exponent Philanthropy, which represents foundations with few staff members, also found that 16 percent of respondents participated in "mission or impact investing," and another 11 percent plan to do so in the next few years.
- Categories
- Finance
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Umeme Kicks Off a Global Partnership Pilot to Identify New Approaches to Clean Energy Access in Uganda
Umeme Limited, Makerere University, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Power for All – a global charity dedicated to accelerating the end of energy poverty – and a coalition of energy companies launched an integrated energy pilot to test new ways of accelerating energy access, stimulating customer demand and improving grid performance in Uganda that will primarily benefit poor and rural areas.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa Grapples with Clean Energy Conundrum
Africa is both the world's least electrified continent and the most vulnerable to climate change - the conundrum is how to meet the demand for energy without making the climate situation worse.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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