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Analysis: A Kenyan Home of One’s Own
A mortgage remains a rare and frightening prospect for most Kenyan families, even many wealthier ones, due to the long-term financial implications it poses
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: IFC Invests In Carao Ventures’ New Fund to Support Startups in Latin America
IFC is supporting the development of the early-stage startup ecosystem in small and medium countries in Latin America with an investment in Carao Ventures, the first venture capital firm in Central America.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Making This Year Better Than the Last: A Recent Survey Assesses the Pandemic’s Impacts on Micro and Small Businesses
Micro and small businesses dealt with massive challenges during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and even those that adapted and survived still face major struggles. Juan Carlos Thomas at TechnoServe shares the results of a recent study on COVID-19's impact on these enterprises, and explores how his organization has been supporting them – including through a crisis toolkit that helps them weather the pandemic's challenges, and through digital tools focused on business training and access to finance.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Press Release: Utilities 2.0 Twaake Pilot: New Integrated Energy Approach Could Deliver Universal Electrification in Uganda for Half the Cost, Fraction of the Time as Grid-Only
A coalition of global energy sector leaders launched a first-of-its-kind integrated energy pilot in Uganda.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Magic Fund Raises $30 Million, to Give $100 – $300k Checks to Founders in Emerging Markets
MAGIC Fund, a global collective of founders that backs other founders to solve business challenges, has announced a $30 Million Fund II raise to continue backing early-stage startups.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Scaling Biodigesters: How Appropriate Financing Can Help This Undervalued Technology Deliver Social and Environmental Impact
Biodigesters break down organic material to produce biogas for cooking and heating, along with fertilizer. But though these applications are extremely useful for farming households, uptake remains limited: In Africa alone, the technology could be adopted by almost 33 million households, but market penetration is less than 1% of that. Tanya Kothari of the Catalysing Agriculture by Scaling Energy Ecosystems program shares a recent study from the Shell Foundation exploring the impact biodigesters can make, while identifying the kinds of financing that could support growth in the market.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy
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Doing Good By Selling Well: How Social Enterprises Can Transform Their Sales Strategies by Boosting Customers’ ‘Decision Intelligence’
A social enterprise may have a brilliant product, local production and an affordable price point – but unless it has an effective and ethical sales strategy, it will struggle to fulfill its mission, says Roy Whitten of Whitten & Roy Partnership. He explains how traditional, pressure-filled sales methods can create distrust among customers and encourage bad behavior among salespeople, and explores the advantages of a more ethical approach based on boosting customers' "decision intelligence."
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Unilever Unveils Program to Support Women in Businesses
Unilever’s Sunlight, has invested in a five-year program to support women in business through various initiatives such as financial literacy training and advertising.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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