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Women Sales Agents are the Key to Last-Mile Distribution: Here are Four Ways to Maximize Their Impact
Many development and entrepreneurship programs around the world have engaged women sales agents as last-mile distributors, as their involvement can advance multiple business and impact goals. But as Shihab Uzzaman and Trisha Clauson at Bopinc point out, though some of these initiatives have succeeded, many have failed. They share four key practices Bopinc leveraged in a last-mile distribution project in Bangladesh that can boost the performance of other businesses and programs that enlist women sales agents in their distribution efforts.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Mobilizing Capital in the Low-Cost Private School Sector: Key Insights Two Years into an Innovative Partnership
One in five children in sub-Saharan Africa are out of school, and without scalable solutions, the region — like other emerging markets — won’t meet SDG 4’s goal of education for all. Mauricio Rincon and Mathieu Fourn at Opportunity International, and Alvaro Ma at Oikocredit argue that affordable non-state schools can help address this need — but only if they're supported by financial institutions and impact investment. They share learnings from a partnership between Opportunity and Oikocredit that is directing millions of dollars in capital to these schools, along with capacity building and other support.
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Analysis: Drones, Droids, and Delivery Bots: The Future of Last-Mile Logistics
Emerging technologies in automated delivery are poised to drastically reduce delivery times, cut costs, and enhance environmental sustainability.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Nine Business Models for Productive Use of Electricity in Africa: A Framework for Generating Profit and Impact in Off-Grid Energy
Improving energy access in rural Africa is crucial for poverty reduction, but grid electricity is often inaccessible or unaffordable — and off-grid alternatives present similar challenges. Olowo Aminu, Bodunde Akinola, Nneka Chime and Mosorire Aiyeyemi at CrossBoundary argue that Productive Use of Electricity (PUE) has the potential to solve these issues, boosting household income and economic growth, while increasing profitability for energy providers. They share a framework CrossBoundary has developed to help off-grid companies and other stakeholders plan for effective PUE implementation.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology
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Float, a South African Buy-Now-Pay-Later Startup, Secures $11 million to Launch its Card-Linked Installment Platform
Float encourages responsible credit card usage and, at the same time, helps merchants to grow their sales.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Universal Music Group Acquires Majority Stake in Mavin Global to Boost Nigerian Music Globally
This acquisition will boost the growth of Nigerian music companies by providing more opportunities to showcase talent globally.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Ten US Startups Selected for Social Innovation for Resilient Future Accelerator
Through workshops, mentorship, and catalytic capital, the accelerator program will help the startups develop the necessary networks and tools to scale their impact.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- North America
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Vietnam Kicks off First 5G Spectrum Auction
VNA reports that the MIC has set a target to provide 5G coverage to 99% of the population by 2025, with minimum data speeds of 100 Mbps.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- South Asia