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The world’s first solar-powered refugee camp
As part of its Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign, the IKEA Foundation began offering solar lamps to residents in Azraq, which became essential for everything from cooking and studying, to safe access to water and sanitation.
Yet the lamps, though essential, only illuminated the broader challenge of life without a consistent power grid.- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- refugees, renewable energy, solar
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Islamic finance is making a case for ‘impact investment’
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development of the UN Development Program launched the “Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform,” an institution which seeks to build collaborations between a multitude of stakeholders, including Islamic banks and Islamic finance institutions, that engage in developmental investments in accordance with the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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IDB-UNDP report identifies steps to leverage Islamic finance for impact investing
Given that impact investment is growing rapidly and has become an important source of funding the SDGs, a blending with Islamic finance provides a formable partnership that could play a significant role in achieving the SDGs.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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How Dubai Is Turning Into A Smart City ‘Test Bed’ For Global Digital Health Entrepreneurs
With considerable wealth, the country -- and Dubai in particular -- has technologically leapfrogged to implement the most modern healthcare technology available. As the UAE establishes its development agenda and enables a new era for healthcare, it has an opportunity to create a new paradigm to structure the way healthcare is conceived founded on synergies between technology and data, and a commitment to create better patient solutions.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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MFS transaction limits taking toll on SMEs, e-commerce in Bangladesh
An account holder can now make deposits and withdraw amounts twice in a day. Previously, the limit for cash-in was five and for cash-out it was five. On January 11 this year, Bangladesh Bank issued an order to all mobile financial service providers to comply with the revised mobile banking transaction ceiling, citing abuse of the facility by a section of people.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- digital finance
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‘Fintech startups in Middle East, North Africa raised $100m last decade’
Fintech startups in the Middle East and North Africa have raised $100-million over the last decade, yet 28% fail in their initial years, says a new report by business support organisation Wamda and online payment gateway Payfort.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- fintech
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IKEA aims to take 200,000 people out of poverty in massive social sustainability drive
IKEA is to open production centres in refugee camps in Jordan this summer as part of a long-term plan to create employment for 200,000 disadvantaged people around the world through social entrepreneurship programmes.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- employment, manufacturing, refugees
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JazzCash partners with Women’s World Banking to serve low-income women in Pakistan
JazzCash, Pakistan’s digital financial service provider, and Women’s World Banking, a global non-profit organization, have announced a partnership to promote women’s financial inclusion across Pakistan.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East