NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Results

• Blog Post
  What Drives Corporate Philanthropy in Asia: Exploring the Region’s Unique Approach to Giving

  As Asian wealth has surged in recent decades, so has the region’s corporate philanthropy. According to Gwendolyn Lim and Denise Chew at the Bridgespan Group, the 20 top Asian corporate funders alone commit an average of $3.7 billion annually to social and environmental causes. They explore the factors that are driving this trend — from Asian business culture to government CSR policies — and discuss three widely used approaches to corporate giving in Asia, as highlighted in a recent Bridgespan report.

• Blog Post
  Impact Leadership Under Pressure: Four Lessons from Resilient Organizations

  Impact leadership is hard even in the best of times. But as Erin Worsham and Kimberly Bardy Langsam at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) explain, recent crises have put added stress on leaders and organizations across the sector. Drawing on insights gathered during COVID-19 and other crises, they share four key lessons that can help impact leaders navigate the pressure of the present while preparing their organizations for the future.

• Blog Post
  Creating a Local Means of Exchange for African Entrepreneurs: How a Blockchain-Based Community Currency Gained Traction in Tanzania

  In African communities, the lack of disposable income often hinders economic growth, and many local entrepreneurs are excluded from centralized, formal finance. Malik El Bay at the Encointer Association and Alinagwe Mwaselela at Jukumu NGO explore how their organizations are addressing this issue by leveraging blockchain technology to enable community members in Dar es Salaam to independently create and manage their own local cryptocurrency. They explain how this community currency model can be leveraged to support economic growth and entrepreneurship across Africa and other emerging markets.

• Calendar Event
  Powering Possibility: Energy Access & Productive Use

• Blog Post
  The False Choice in African Energy Access: Why the Sector Must Balance the Needs of Households and Businesses — And How it Can Electrify Both

  Energy access is essential to Africa’s development. But as Alba Topulli at CLASP and Todd Moss at the Energy for Growth Hub argue, progress has stalled over a false choice: Should the continent prioritize solar home systems that bring basic access to households — or should it invest in making electricity cheaper and more reliable for businesses, to power job creation and economic growth? They explain why the energy access sector must resist this perceived trade-off, and propose four key principles that can allow Africa to accomplish both of these goals.

• Blog Post
  Storytelling for Velocity, Not Visibility: Why African Development Organizations Need a New Communications Playbook

  Something subtle yet profound is changing in how global development organizations in Africa communicate about their work and impact. According to Chrisphine Omondi, a communications specialist with experience across the continent, these organizations have often relied on external communications consultants who produce reports, recommendations and strategies, then exit before those plans are fully implemented. He argues that this model no longer fits the pace and complexity of Africa’s evolving development ecosystem, and explores how African organizations can create a more holistic, systems-based communications model that aligns with the broader changes that are reshaping global development.

• Calendar Event
  RENMOZ 2026: 5th Business Conference Renewables in Mozambique

• Blog Post
  African Agriculture at a Climate Crossroads: Business Risks and Opportunities as the Continent Navigates the Growing Crisis

  Africa’s food systems are under mounting pressure from climate change, as droughts, erratic rainfall, floods and heat waves increasingly undermine both crop and livestock production. But as Asamoah Oppong Zadok at Sustaina Harvest explains, despite the emergence of climate-smart innovations and resilience-focused initiatives, many stakeholders still prioritize short-term fixes and reactive crisis spending that leave deeper vulnerabilities intact. He argues that African agriculture faces a choice: remain trapped in a cycle of repeated shocks and emergency responses — or invest in technologies, ecosystems and people that can turn climate risk into opportunity, building healthy ecosystems and inclusive livelihoods over the long term.