NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Battling Poverty With Tiny Bits of Cash

Bishoftu - At the outskirts of this town, 45 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Aselefech Desalegn fights the flames she uses for baking enjera, Ethiopia’s staple flatbread. Like millions of poor Ethiopian women, she is also constantly battling to feed her children. In recent years her livelihood has been supplying enjera to hotels in the town. "Except for the chair you see over there, all you see in the house comes from Buusaa Gonofaa," she says, referring to t...

Source

allAfrica.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

GBF, LGT Venture Philanthropy Partner to Employ iCats Program

The Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), a global organization that provides investment capital and capacity building to businesses that create economic opportunities at the base of the pyramid, announces that it will be partnering with LGT Venture Philanthropy ( LGT VP ) to employ their iCats Fellowship Program. Chosen through a selective application process, iCats Fellows will be placed with GBF’s portfolio companies. Two GBF iCats Fell...

Source

News Release (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Malaria Scientist Celebrates Success After 24 Years

For Joe Cohen, a GlaxoSmithKline research scientist who has spent 24 years trying to create the world's first malaria vaccine, Tuesday, October 18, 2011 goes down as a fabulous day.

Source

Reuters (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Energy, Health Care

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

solar

How Businesses Can Excel as the Poor Shift to Buying in Small Packs

My colleague expressed shock at the price of packaged mushrooms in supermarkets in Eastlands compared to those in Westlands in Nairobi. The price for the same product was almost double in Eastlands compared to Westlands. She was surprised at the pricing logic, but this is just a poverty penalty. I explained that the rich always pay less than the poor in many circumstances. Micro finance institutions charge higher interest rates for loans than mainstream banks while shylocks ...

Source

Business Daily (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

financial inclusion

Women Seen Key to Solving Hunger Issues in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting problems staving off famine in coming decades but food and development experts also say one solution to the problem is obvious: empower women. "They are the major producers of food crops in Africa. If we want to make a real headway on food production, we should be able to invest in women, improve their skills and access to the inputs they require," said Namanga Ngongi, president, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a top seed producer. ...

Source

Reuters (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Elumelu Sees Impact Through Large-Scale Entrepreneurship

Tony Elumelu, who made a meteoric rise as a banking executive before retiring last year, knows what he’d like to accomplish with his new initiatives. "One of my greatest joys would be to look back and say I’ve helped to create ten or a hundred very successful African entrepreneurs," the 48-year-old Nigerian said during an interview in late August at the end of an event-packed visit to East Africa. ...

Source

allAfrica.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mobile Cash Transfers Empower Poor Niger Women

A working paper released by Center for Global Development reports on the first randomized evaluation of a short term mobile cash transfer program in Niger . According to the paper’s findings, women in households which use m-transfers, have greater control over the spending of the cash transfer and engage in consumption and production decisions. Households using m-transfers (ZAP) pu...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Zimbabwe: Telecel, ZimSwitch Provide Mobile Banking

Telecel, Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile network operator in terms of subscribers, has teamed up with ZimSwitch to provide mobile banking for Zimbabweans. The service, in a country just emerging from 10 years of economic meltdown, is widely viewed as a huge breakthrough as far as technology is concerned in the country. Telecel Zimbabwe Marketing Director, Obert Mandimika, said the joint venture with one of the country’s leading banks would enable banks to offer their cust...

Source

IT News Africa (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa