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Gates Foundation refutes report it fails African farmers
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has rejected accusations that too much of its funding goes to Western researchers, saying it is helping small farmers in African countries.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A chocolate factory with a higher purpose
When Shawn Askinosie left a successful law career and founded his bean-to-bar chocolate company in 2006, he set out to make a prize-winning product while helping developing-world farmers and their communities. Today he practices direct trade, meeting face-to-face with farmers to buy their cacao beans at above fair trade prices. And he returns each year to share 10 percent of his profits as well.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Bill Gates-Backed Group Weighs Funding for Ebola Vaccine
As GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) and other drugmakers race to develop and deploy vaccines against West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, one key question remains: who will pay?
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Tanzania: CRDB, European Bank Sign Landmark Sh43 Billion Deal to Support Small Businesses
CRDB Bank and European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a landmark 20 million Euros (about Sh 43 billion) agreement to support small scale businesses.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- microfinance
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Survey: Banking growth has not boosted savings in South Africa
The number of banked South Africans has grown to 27.4 million over the past ten years, or about 75% of the total adult population. But this increase has not translated into a higher incidence of saving, with only 20% of banked adult South Africans saving either in banks or non-bank financial institutions.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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PRESS RELEASE: Pershing Square Foundation Makes $611,000 Grant To myAgro To Support Small-Scale West African Farmers
The Pershing Square Foundation has announced a grant of $611,000 to myAgro – an organization that helps small-scale West African farmers save their way out of poverty through a unique mobile layaway lending program, allowing them to increase harvests by an estimated 75%.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Safaricom of Kenya Braces for Competition on Key Cash Earner
Safaricom Ltd., East Africa’s biggest cellular-network operator, is bracing for competition in its key mobile-money business that helped boost first-half profit by 30 percent, CEO Bob Collymore said.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- mobile finance
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This backpack designed for poor kids does so much more than carry books
South Africans Thato Kgatlhanye and Rea Ngwane are co-founders of the business Rethaka. Their brand of Repurposed Schoolbags are made from recycled and reinforced plastic shopping bags. Recipients are all poor. But it’s so much more than a bag. Because the kids often live in shacks and remote areas with no electricity, Repurposed Schoolbags are built with some other smart features. On the outside of the flap is a pocket for a solar panel, which charges on the long walk to and from school.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- solar
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