-
Mastercard and Banco Sol Strengthen Collaboration to Drive SME Growth in Angola
This collaboration strategically leverages Mastercard's dedication to fostering financial inclusion through innovative payment solutions and Banco Sol's commitment to strengthening small businesses in underserved communities.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Analysis: India’s VCs are Beating American Investors at Home
A decade after U.S. venture capital firms fueled India’s startup boom, local investors are now dominating deals.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
Lightrock Launches ACCELERATE7 Following the Final Close of a USD $500 Million Fund
With the launch of Accelerate7, Lightrock’s capital dedicated to energy transition, energy access and climate investments now totals approximately USD $2 billion, representing a significant share of the firm’s assets under advice.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Press Release: Inspired Evolution Backs CrossBoundary Energy’s Growth Through New Investment
The investment company has committed a US$40M to CrossBoundary Energy, supporting the construction of its portfolio.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
How to Support Rural Social Enterprises: Three Key Learnings from a Field Visit in Malaysia
While global media coverage of the social enterprise sector often focuses on countries like India and Kenya, Malaysia remains relatively underrepresented in these conversations. Yet as Sreevas Sahasranamam at the University of Glasgow explains, the country has developed rich models of social innovation deeply rooted in indigenous knowledge systems, ecological stewardship and local resilience. He shares three key learnings from five community-led ventures, each of which demonstrates how practitioners and policymakers can best support rural social enterprises — not only in Malaysia, but globally.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
British International Investment Partners with Ecobank DRC to Expand Sustainable Financing for SMEs in the DRC
The facility will target sectors critical to the country’s economic development, job creation and more resilient supply chains in the real economy, including agriculture and agro‑processing, industrial, infrastructure, climate‑aligned projects and renewable energy, as well as local entrepreneurship.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
$64 Million Botswana Tech Fund to Support Tech Startups Across Southern Africa
The Botswana Tech Fund (BTF), a multi-stage venture capital initiative targeting US$64 million in total commitments, has launched with the aim of supporting tech startups across Southern Africa.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
High Expectations Require New Approaches: What Africa’s Social Innovators Need to Scale — And Why Support Systems Must Evolve
Social entrepreneurs are tackling some of Africa's biggest development challenges. Yet many struggle to scale beyond their initial promise, despite heightened expectations to deliver both jobs and social impact. And as Amabelle Nwakanma, Akolade Oladipupo, Abdullahi Ibrahim and Chukwuemeka Okeke at LEAP Africa explain, though accelerators, incubators and fellowships have proliferated across the continent to support these innovators, it's unclear if these programs are actually aligned with their current needs. They share insights from a study LEAP Africa conducted, with support from the William Davidson Institute, to better understand where current enterprise support models succeed, and where they fall short.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.