NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Social Innovation Putting Hope in the Hands of Kenya’s Starving

As the severe drought continues taking lives in Kenya and the rest of east Africa, Concern Worldwide is turning to social innovation to try to save lives. The international humanitarian organisation has created a programme that enables people to make cash transfers to buy food. It is hoped this initiative will help 20,000 people over the next five months. Earlier this year, Concern began noticing a disturbin...

Source

Justmeans (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Facing Up to the Global Water Crisis

With rising population growth and changes in the earth’s climate putting stress on the consumable 1% of the planet’s water , the global water crisis risks becoming a source of cross-border conflict. Sub-Saharan Africa is especially vulnerable given its dry climate, which is exacerbated b...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mobile Money Operators Prepare to Roll Out Financial Services

Shut out by the formal banking sector for years, the un-banked and un-served communities in Nigeria will soon gains some respite as mobile money operators are preparing to roll out innovative solutions geared towards providing financial inclusion in the coming months. This is following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recent issuance of operating licenses to 11 mobile firms. The firms include: Fortis Money, UBA/Afripay, GTBank Mobile Money, Pagatech, eTranzact, Monetise, Earthole...

Source

Business Day (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Indego Africa: Lifting Africa’s Women Out of Poverty

Promoting access and opporutnity for business-minded African women [ Video ] ...

Source

Fox News (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

How Solar Stores Are Helping to Meet Rural Uganda?s Energy Needs

Attorney Sari Schwartz and Rachel Ishofsky, associate executive director of Jewish Heart for Africa discuss how cell phones and hair trimming in rural Uganda sparked the introduction of mobile solar kiosks. A pilot project, the aim is to see whether these solar stores can be run profitably, thus creating both an independent business and a source of safe, reliable energy. The focus of international development is shifting. Foreign assistance in its traditional form is being called into q...

Source

pv magazine (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Using Technology to Close the Gender Gap in Sierra Leone

Admire Bio has the reassured presence of a successful businesswoman, with an edge that reveals she is still hungry for more. Bio, 28, a single mother living with her parents, set up her first internet cafe in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, only a year ago. She has expanded with two more branches, and plans to go national if she can secure a bank loan. "My biggest motivation is...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Why Zimbabwe’s Cool-Sounding Plan to Give Away Millions of CFLs Isn’t a Good Solution

Zimbabwe’s power supply is erratic, to say the least. The country imports nearly half of its power from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it still has to turn off power supplies for up to 10 hours at a time just to keep up with demand. In an effort to curb power consumption, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) recently decided to hand out 5.5 million CFL bulbs at a cos...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Solar Irrigation Solutions in Africa

When you have to hand-deliver water to irrigate your farm, you aren’t going to have the best possible crop yields. If you have to pay for water from a nearby pump, if one exists, you’re not going to be able to get very much if your total budget is less than a dollar a day and your crop yield is still going to be pretty limited. But if you can manage to access the underground water table using a solar-powered pump that does not cost much to run, you can ease the burden of everyda...

Source

Dowser (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa