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The Catch-22 in Global Health Finance: Why Medical Oxygen is the Test Case for Turning Aid into Investment
By most measures, medical oxygen in sub-Saharan Africa isn’t an investable market. As Alex Losneanu and Jason Houdek at Oxygen CoLab explain, providing medical oxygen is capital-intensive and operationally demanding. That means small- and medium-sized oxygen suppliers typically stall out or get absorbed into grant-funded programs instead of becoming commercially viable, and funders conclude that these SMEs are too fragile to justify the investment risk. They argue that this conclusion is wrong, and also self-fulfilling, reinforcing a Catch-22 that exists across global health. They share findings from a supplier mapping project that show how emerging business models are enabling oxygen SMEs to scale, and propose three shifts in how catalytic capital can be designed to support these and other businesses across the global health sector.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
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Cue Lands $5 Million to Bring AI Agents Into Enterprise Customer Support Across Global Markets
The round was co-led by Knife Capital and FAM Investments, roughly a year after Cue closed a $2 million raise.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Why EV Infrastructure, Not Vehicles, Will Determine Africa’s Mobility Transition
In many emerging electric mobility markets, the question is no longer whether riders are willing to adopt EVs. It is whether the broader infrastructure ecosystem, including charging, swapping, grid capacity, and financing, can scale quickly enough to keep pace.
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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KCB Bank Kenya and European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) Sign US$100 Million Facility to Expand SME Financing
Under the framework, 35 per cent of the facility will be directed towards women and youth-led enterprises, while 30 per cent will finance eligible green investments, enabling businesses to adopt climate-smart technologies and sustainable business practices.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Korean Firm Kia Will Invest $649 Million in Mexico to Begin Production of Electric Vehicles in the Country
Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said, “In a time of such uncertainty regarding the automotive industry, tariffs, new rules, etc., etc., the fact that this decision is being made means that this company, which is one of the most important in the world, is experiencing productivity in Mexico and is seeing opportunities and investment in the country, . . . ”
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Latin America
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When ‘Patient Capital’ isn’t Patient Enough: How Mismatched Funder Timelines in PAYGo Solar are Holding Back Energy Access in Africa
The energy access conversation in Africa is usually framed around deployment, with success defined by connection targets, cost reduction and rural reach. But Kolawole Osinowo at the FATE Institute argues that these goals don't address a binding constraint for companies working at the last mile: the time it takes for households to repay the solar assets they bought via PAYGo financing. As he explains, the PAYGo model spreads out payments for the benefit of the consumer, but it adds the cost of waiting to the provider’s balance sheet — and that cost later spreads to the company’s investors. And though much of the capital that supports energy access presents itself as patient, willing to wait for these PAYGo assets to be repaid, in practice, these investors often behave otherwise. He discusses the impacts of this mismatch, and explores how capital can be structured for better alignment with PAYGo timelines.
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Viewpoint: Why African Agriculture Must Prepare for its Nana Benz Moment
African smallholder farming is facing a succession crisis that threatens the loss of generations of accumulated knowledge.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Taking First-Loss Guarantees Further: Four Problems That Keep Social Enterprises Stuck, and How Entrepreneurship Support Organizations Can Address Them
Grants and equity dominate the conversation in impact finance, but according to Srinivas Ramanujam at Villgro, debt is often the most practical tool for social enterprises that are too large for a grant, but too small and early-stage for most equity investors. And since lenders face real and perceived risks around these companies' creditworthiness, first-loss guarantees can help make debt capital more accessible. However, he explains that a guarantee alone is not a silver bullet, and that the harder work involves solving the problems that keep enterprises stuck. He explores how Villgro has addressed four of these key challenges, highlighting takeaways for entrepreneurship support organizations and other intermediaries.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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