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Articles in Kiva-Sponsored Series
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Guest Articles
Thursday
February 25
2021Transforming Microcredit After COVID-19: Why ‘Building Back Better’ Will Require a Radical Reboot of Local Financial Systems in the Global South
Microcredit advocates have expressed the expectation that the industry can play a major role in economic and social recovery in the Global South after the COVID-19 pandemic. But economist Milford Bateman argues that shifting these micro-lending programs into community-owned financial institutions would make a more substantial impact. He shares a roadmap for empowering community-focused economies, and explores how a plan modeled after elements of the U.S.'s New Deal could transform local finance.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
February 24
2021Carolina de Miranda / Cristina Heisecke / Mauricio Royg
Social Protection Goes Digital: Lessons From an Innovative, WhatsApp-Driven Outreach Campaign in Paraguay
The COVID-19 lockdown has reshaped social policy in Paraguay, as programs that depended on face-to-face contact to reach participants suddenly found themselves unable to conduct their usual outreach. Cristina Heisecke, Carolina de Miranda and Mauricio Royg of Fundación Capital share lessons from an innovative solution to this challenge: a digital campaign that used WhatsApp to offer a remote alternative to the in-person training and coaching of the country's flagship cash transfer program.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
February 17
2021Addressing COVID-19 While Building Long-Term Capacity: Trends and Opportunities in Africa’s Growing Pharmaceutical Markets
The African pharmaceutical market’s estimated worth is between US $40 – $65 billion, but it remains largely untapped, with a heavy reliance on imports. According to Biodun Awosusi at Health Systems and Development Enterprise, the COVID-19 crisis shows the urgent need to unlock new partnerships and investments to accelerate the local production of medical supplies, medicines and vaccines, which could save lives and create jobs. He explores how Africa’s pharmaceutical sector is responding to the pandemic, and how it could be strengthened for the longer term.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
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Guest Articles
Wednesday
February 10
2021When Economies Turn Down, Entrepreneurs Turn Up: How COVID-19 Has Spurred Nigerian Businesses to Build for an Inclusive Future
The COVID-19 crisis has devastated lives and livelihoods around the world. But as Eloho Omame at Endeavor points out, it has also re-shaped economies in more positive ways, revealing businesses' weak spots, areas for improvement and inefficient processes. She explores the impact this is having on Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem, where entrepreneurs have built or adapted business models that have saved lives, created jobs, and contributed to economic prosperity and the digitization of the economy.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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Guest Articles
Tuesday
February 2
2021When ‘Hibernation’ Is Not an Option: How a Small Business in India Fought to Stay Alive During the Pandemic
Soon after the COVID-19 lockdown started, Lal10 – a social enterprise that connects India’s indigenous artisans to formal markets – faced cratering demand for its standard products, like saris and other textiles. As Sachi Shenoy at Upaya Social Ventures explains, in order to survive, the company essentially had to start over. She explores how Lal10 managed to quickly pivot to meet the intense demand for personal protective equipment, while continuing to connect its artisans to dignified work – and building a more efficient company in the process.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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Guest Articles
Monday
February 1
2021Puneet Khanduja / Mitul Thapliyal
Preparing for Life After COVID-19: How India’s Healthcare System Can Better Respond to Future Shocks
India’s public healthcare system was tested by the onset of COVID-19. Now that a vaccine promises to bring the end phase of the pandemic (gradually) into sight, Puneet Khanduja and Mitul Thapliyal at MicroSave (MSC) say it’s time to make the system more robust, to better absorb such shocks in the future. They share research that MSC conducted with low-income households in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar, and make recommendations to improve the healthcare system's preparedness for the next crisis.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
