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The New Microfinancing: SMS-Based Layaway to the Rescue
Microfinance , the Nobel Prize-winning initiative to turn aspiring Third World entrepreneurs into self-sustaining CEOs, has long been the only game in town when it comes to offering developing world entrepreneurs a viable and sustainable form of funding. But other financial instruments may work just as well--if not better--at supplying small farmers around the world with capital and a path out of poverty. ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Improving the Quality of Rwanda?s Milk, While Turning a Profit
Good, quality milk is one of the most nutrient-rich natural beverages available. Containing a healthy dose of at least nine essential vitamins and minerals, milk can be, quite literally, a lifesaver for populations suffering from an extremely nutrient-poor diet in developing countries. Yet in Rwanda , where an estimated 90% of the population is still dependent on agriculture, and ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Omidyar, Indigo Trust to Fund Social Innovation Center in Nigeria
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and LONDON, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Omidyar Network and The Indigo Trust announced today their support and intent to fund the Co-Creation Hub in Lagos, Nigeria. The Hub is a non-profit, social enterprise centered around a shared work space where stakeholders from multiple walks of Nigerian life come together to collaboratively create tech-based solutions that address social challenges facing Nigerian society. It will be Nigeria’s fi...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Switching On: Africa’s Vast New Tech Opportunity
This article was taken from the August 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired’s articles in print before they’re posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online . In 2011, visitors to Africa looking for war, famine and pestilence have to dig a lot deeper than in the past. At Nairo...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How 28 Poor Countries Escaped the Poverty Trap
Remember the poverty trap? Countries stuck in destitution because of weak institutions put in place by colonial overlords, or because of climates that foster disease, or geographies that limit access to global markets, or simply by the fact that poverty is overwhelmingly self-perpetuating. Apparently the trap can be escaped. The World Bank did its annual assessment of poor countries...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Solar Sister Wants to Light Up Rural Africa
One-year-old start up Solar Sister is using cosmetics company AVON’s model to distribute solar energy in Uganda , Sudan , and Rwanda . To learn more about the "business in a bag" model that’s giving rural African women ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Invest in Agriculture to Tackle Food Crisis in East Africa, says IFAD
In the face of a prolonged drought in East Africa that is threatening the lives of an estimated 10 million people across the region, Geoffrey Livingston, Regional Economist for East and Southern Africa at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said: "We need to act now and step up investment in agriculture and smallholder farmers if we want to prevent a major food crisis." The effects of climate change have been becoming more and more apparent in the region including...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Universal Charger for Just About Any Gadget Battery
ASPEN -- If you can pry the lithium ion battery out of your device, you can probably charge it with Fenix International’s noteworthy USB charger. And you won’t need an annoying adapter, either. The company developed the charger for use in Uganda and other developing world countries. It’s part of a whole suite of products Fenix designed to help local people to become one-stop electricity providers. But you can use it yourself, too. At the bottom of this post, you can see the ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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