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Meet The Social Entrepreneur Behind Africa’s “Uber For The Farm”
How do you sell agriculture as a meaningful career for young people? Hello Tractor, founded in 2014, is helping illuminate one path: By cutting down on the labor and the drudgery long associated with farming, they’re making it more attractive and more lucrative for the next generation.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why are Meghalaya’s farmers dialling a toll-free number?
Since December 2017, approximately 15,000 farmers in Meghalaya have been busy thumbing in four digits into their mobile phones: 1 9 1 7. The toll-free number connects them to a call centre based in Shillong’s Laitumkhrah area, manned by 20 operators.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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Low Tech, High Impact: Can an Affordable, Hand-Powered Innovation Boost Food Production in Africa?
For many global development players, high-tech innovations are the go-to solution for challenges in emerging markets. But according to Taylor Quinn of JUST, Inc., low-tech approaches can be even smarter. He discusses the promising potential of locally made and hand-powered machines in emerging economy value chains, and explores how JUST is using one such device to improve food security, increase access to quality nutrition and promote entrepreneurship in Liberia.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Press release: Tulaa closes seed round of investment
Four out of five African families depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but lack of access to quality inputs, affordable finance and reliable markets keep many of them trapped in a cycle of poverty. To solve these problems, Tulaa leverages mobile technology and artificial intelligence to enable farmers to purchase inputs on credit and to market their crops efficiently at harvest time.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press release: IFC invests $100 million in Mahindra Finance for loans to farmers
“Since its inception in 1991, Mahindra Finance has been working in the rural and semi-urban areas of India, catalyzing financial inclusion of the unbanked and under-served communities and also partnering with them in their difficult times. Our focus has been on enabling these customers with innovative financial solutions, tailor made to their evolving needs” said Ramesh Iyer, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Finance.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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NextBillion is on Vacation – Check Out Our Top 10 Recent Posts
With the Independence Day holiday this Wednesday, it's summer vacation time for much of the U.S. - and NextBillion is no exception. Since our editors will be enjoying some time off this week, we won't be publishing new blog content until next Monday, July 9. In the meantime, we've compiled 10 of our most-read recent posts, including some of our more thought-provoking content of the year. We hope you enjoy them, and we look forward to bringing you more original analysis and insight from the world of social business next week.
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Making Agritech Work for Smallholders: What Tech Companies Can Learn from Development Organizations
Agritech proponents argue that technology is the key to helping the world's 500 million smallholder farmers. Yet despite countless ‘ICT for development’ companies and projects, these solutions often fall short of their intended impacts. This raises an important question: Can the methodologies that have proven successful for many tech startups work for the complex, interrelated challenges faced by smallholders? Wouter Vink of GreenFingers argues that there's a better approach.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Meat Every Day: How a Rwandan Entrepreneur Aims to Satisfy Africa’s Changing Appetites
Some predict that, by the end of the century, 13 African cities will surpass New York City in population. As African economies grow and their citizens become more urbanized, their standards of living and meat consumption are also likely to increase. This shift will reshape the continent's agriculture industry – and entrepreneurs like Herve Tuyishime are responding. Tuyishime explains how his two interrelated businesses are helping satisfy Africans' growing appetite for meat, and bringing Rwandan farmers into the supply chain.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship
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