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From the Valley of Death to a $14 Million Series A: Sokowatch, Quona and the Role of Philanthropic Capital
The e-commerce company Sokowatch recently raised a $14 million Series A round, enabling it to expand its digital financial services to more merchants in Africa. But just two years ago, the company was in danger of going under. Malika Anand and Maelis Carraro at BFA’s Catalyst Fund discuss how the fund's philanthropically-funded acceleration approach has helped Sokowatch – and other promising fintech startups – survive the “valley of death” and position themselves for commercial investment.
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Press Release: Ethereum Classic Labs Commits $1 Million in Partnership With UNICEF Innovation Fund to Promote Blockchain-Based Social Impact Solutions
ETC Labs will directly invest $750k in global startups that have graduated from the UNICEF Innovation Fund. In addition to the cash investment, the cohort of blockchain companies selected from the UNICEF Innovation Fund portfolio will receive support for project creation from the acclaimed developer team at ETC Labs Accelerate.
- Categories
- Technology
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Press Release: These Startups Have Big Ideas to Fight Hunger. Cargill and the World Food Programme Are Helping Make Them a Reality.
A handheld tool to fight hunger. Technology that turns small-scale flour mills into a front line of defense against malnutrition. Breakthroughs in disaster zone mapmaking that could save lives. The World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator and Cargill are teaming up to help three startups make those ideas a reality.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Press Release: ANDE, USAID and Visa Foundation Partner to Launch ANDE Gender Equality Initiative and Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund
The initiative’s first activity, the Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund, seeks to address the gap in access to finance for women-led businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Press Release: Mary Kay, in Collaboration With UN Agencies, Launches Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator
The Accelerator will offer a guided digital curriculum supplemented by on-the-ground training and mentorship. In addition, it will serve as an advocacy platform to eliminate entrepreneurial roadblocks for women, ranging from digital literacy to legal reform—enabling women to fully participate in the growth of their local and national economies.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Tags
- accelerators, entrepreneurship, gender equality, SDGs, UNDP, Women
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Y Combinator-Backed Trella Brings Transparency to Egypt’s Trucking and Shipping Industry
Like other logistics management services, Trella is trying to consolidate a fragmented industry around its app that provides price transparency and increases efficiency by giving carriers and shippers better price transparency and a way to see how cargo is moving around the country.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Chronic, Not Acute: The Refugee Crisis Needs Long-Term Solutions – And Social Enterprise Can Help
It’s time to stop addressing the global refugee crisis with short-term emergency measures, and to start seeking long-term solutions, says Thane Kreiner at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. One of those solutions is entrepreneurship, and Kreiner shares five lessons from the Center's Social Entrepreneurship at the Margins (SEM) accelerator program for businesses serving or led by refugees and other displaced people. The Center is selecting its second SEM accelerator cohort, and applications are open worldwide until August 23, 2019.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Yale-India Business Accelerator to Promote Innovative Health Solutions
The selected companies will each receive $70,000 in seed capital and mentorship from Yale faculty and alumni, and will benefit from a network of Indian industry experts and structured sessions to help startups evolve into a sustainable and scalable business model, refine their market strategy, and build a sustainable company.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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