Results
Blog Post
As gender lens investing moves into the mainstream, investors and enterprises need support in getting buy-in for this approach – and in implementing it effectively. To that end, the Gender-Smart Enterprise Assistance Research Coalition is working to build the evidence base for investing with a gender lens, with support from the Performance Measurement and Improvement team at the William Davidson Institute. NextBillion spoke with Lisa Willems at AlphaMundi and Rebecca Fries at Value for Women about the momentum that’s driving gender lens investing, the challenges it faces and the work the new consortium is doing.
Embedding Gender Equity Into Companies’ DNA: An Investor Consortium Builds the Evidence Base for Gender Lens InvestingBlog Post
Life would be easier for the average African if technology were utilized to its fullest potential. According to Jasmine Nnenne Mbadugha at the London School of Economics and Political Science, the continent's digital potential can be seen particularly at the intersection of big data and artificial intelligence. She explores how Africa can leverage these two emerging technologies to support economic development and play a role in the global digital revolution – and how it can overcome some key challenges it will face in the process.
Big Data and AI in Africa: Why the Future of the Continent Is Artificially Intelligent and Digitally EnabledNews
The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) have signed a $50 million loan agreement to help finance and build infrastructure needed for Africa’s post-COVID recovery. This represents the first direct financing co-operation between the two institutions.
Press Release: OPEC Fund Supports Post-COVID-19 African Infrastructure With $50 Million Loan to Africa Finance CorporationNews
BLK1 has increased the size of its local currency receivable financing facility for d.light’s Kenyan business to USD 127 million with an additional USD 15 million of senior debt from Norfund.
Press Release: USD 127 Million Social Impact Securitization Vehicle for off-Grid Solar Sector in KenyaNews
In 2019, female-led companies received less than 5 percent of the global venture capital. Bringing it to Africa, only 10 percent of the West African startups that cumulatively raised $1 million had at least one female co-founder in the past decade.
These Investors Want to Back ‘Ridiculously Early’ Female-Led African StartupsCalendar Event
Webinar: Introduction to Imm and IRIS+ for Southeast Asia RegionBlog Post
For Black lives to matter, it is critical that we discuss more than just survival, but rather how to enable Blacks to thrive, says Charity Kabango at Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners. She argues that entrepreneurship is a key means to that end, as it empowers Black people to create jobs for themselves and others, and facilitates the flow of wealth within communities. However, limited access to finance and the absence of structured support has held back the development of entrepreneurship among Black people globally. She explores some solutions to this ongoing challenge.
Black Businesses Matter: Leveling the Playing Field for Black Entrepreneurs in Africa and the DiasporaBlog Post
The social investment sector in Africa is dynamic and growing – but it’s struggling to close the enormous Sustainable Development Goals financing gap. The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) explored the opportunities and obstacles facing social investors on the continent in an ambitious new study, “The Landscape for Social Investments in Africa.” NextBillion interviewed AVPA’s CEO, Frank Aswani, to discuss the study’s findings, and what they say about the current state of social investment in Africa.
Surveying the Landscape for Social Investments in Africa: A Major New Study Assesses the Current State of Play on the Continent
