NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Drip Capital Surpasses $9 Billion in Trade Transactions as SMBs Navigate Shifting Global Supply Chains

SMBs continue to face a substantial working capital gap, with traditional banks pulling back on small business lending and alternative lenders increasingly unable to meet the scale or speed that global trade requires.

Source

PR Newswire (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Finance, Technology

Region

Global

Tags

artificial intelligence, business development, international trade, MSMEs, scale, supply chains

Iran War Cuts LPG Flows as Charcoal Demand Spikes in Africa and India

Cooking-fuel costs spike across Africa and South Asia after the Iran war disrupts Gulf liquefied petroleum gas supply, with conservationists warning the return to charcoal and firewood could undo a decade of clean-cooking progress.

Source

WoodCentral (link opens in a new window)

Region

Global

Tags

clean cooking, climate health, energy access, forests, international trade, research, supply chains

Dodai Closes $13 Million Series A to Scale E-Mobility in Ethiopia

Over the next 12 months, the company aims to reach 3,000 battery swapping users supported by 30 battery swapping stations across Addis Ababa.

Source

Africa Private Equity News (link opens in a new window)

Region

Global

Tags

business development, decarbonization, e-mobility, employment, innovation, scale

Press Release: Turn.io Launches the Chat for Health Accelerator 2026, Scaling AI and Voice for Primary Healthcare

The programme is designed for organisations already delivering sustainable primary healthcare at scale across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Source

Turn.io (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Health Care, Technology

Region

Global

Tags

artificial intelligence, healthcare technology, NGOs, scale

India’s Largest Drugmaker, Sun Pharma, to Buy U.S. Firm Organon in $11.75 Billion Deal

The acquisition will lift Sun Pharmaceutical’s revenues to $ 12.4 billion, ranking it among the top 25 global pharmaceutical companies.

Source

CNBC (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Health Care

Region

Global

Tags

business development, public health, reproductive health

Press Release: British International Investment Targets £15 Billion of Capital for Developing Economies as It Launches Climate Initiative as Part of New Five-Year Strategy

British Climate Partners will target highest emitting developing economies with over £1 billion in climate finance.

Source

British International Investment (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Environment, Finance

Region

Global

Tags

development finance, employment, impact investing, sustainable finance, venture capital

Bayer Foundation and UNCDF Announce Inaugural Investments of the Food Systems Innovation Finance Facility in Agri-Businesses Omia and SokoFresh

As concessional resources contract, the need to mobilize additional capital into high-impact sectors such as food systems has become increasingly urgent.

Source

UNCDF (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture, Investing

Region

Global

Tags

blended finance, food security, impact investing, innovation, public-private partnerships, smallholder farmers

Viewpoint: Impact Investing’s New Discipline

Impact investors are not asking for less impact — they are asking for more discipline. Drawing on conversations with investors across Miller Center’s network, Brigit Helms explores why execution, unit economics, additionality, and impact-revenue alignment are becoming central to the next phase of social enterprise finance.

Source

Impact Entrepreneur (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture, Social Enterprise

Region

Global

Tags

financial inclusion, gender lens, impact investing, MSMEs, poverty alleviation, SDGs, smallholder farmers