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Social Enterprises as Job Creators: Four Ways the Sector Can Boost Employment Opportunities in Africa
By 2030, there will be about 1 billion people in Africa of working age – an increase of approximately 40% since 2018. This means more jobs will urgently be needed to improve living conditions, reduce unemployment and create sustainable economic growth in the region. Carola Schwank at Siemens Stiftung argues that impact-oriented entrepreneurs can play a key role in creating these jobs – but they need backing to maximize their untapped potential. She shares four key recommendations on how to support social enterprise job growth in Africa, taken from a recent report.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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SEED Awards 2021
Applications are now open until March 22 for SEED Awards 2021, for innovative small and growing businesses delivering environmental, social and economic impacts.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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An Overlooked Engine of Economic Growth: Delivering Products – and Enabling Livelihoods – in Refugee Communities
The Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee camps in Kenya are home to nearly 200,000 people from 22 countries. Contrary to the stereotype of refugee settlements, these are thriving communities with around 2,500 businesses and over $56 million in economic activity per year. But as Sasha Kapadia at Mastercard points out, their economic growth is stifled by a lack of reliable electricity. She discusses a public-private partnership co-chaired by Mastercard and USAID, which is training people in these communities as sales agents for solar energy products, to spur entrepreneurship and boost access to energy and other essential products.
- Categories
- Energy
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The Development Bank of Southern Africa Issues $242 Million Green Bond to Support a Low Carbon Economy
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has announced the launch of its first green bond. The €200 million ($242 million) bond was issued through a private placement with the French development finance institution, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Recovery 2021: Introducing NextBillion’s New COVID-19 Series
For over a year, COVID-19 and its economic fallout have been inescapable facts of life, taking a particularly heavy toll on vulnerable communities – and the businesses that serve them. Now, with a vaccine promising to gradually bring an end to this historic crisis, we anticipate that the conversation around the pandemic will evolve, as impact-focused businesses and development organizations move to a longer-term effort to “build back better.” To highlight these discussions, NextBillion is expanding upon our COVID-19 coverage through a new special series called “Recovery 2021.”
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise
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Report Spotlights Drug Firms’ Supply Chain Initiatives, Hurdles in LMICs
The almost yearly Access to Medicine Index measures the 20 behemoths of the pharmaceutical industry, encapsulating 70% of global pharmaceutical revenues. However, the report doesn't look at the bottom line: It looks at medicine accessibility in low- and middle-income companies (LMICs), and—as with everything in the past year—COVID-19 made its mark, demanding supply chain innovation and collaboration in new ways.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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New Sanitation and Wastewater Management Benchmark Tool in Africa
Africa must invest in innovative sanitation and wastewater management to achieve development goals – report
- Categories
- Technology, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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When ‘Hibernation’ Is Not an Option: How a Small Business in India Fought to Stay Alive During the Pandemic
Soon after the COVID-19 lockdown started, Lal10 – a social enterprise that connects India’s indigenous artisans to formal markets – faced cratering demand for its standard products, like saris and other textiles. As Sachi Shenoy at Upaya Social Ventures explains, in order to survive, the company essentially had to start over. She explores how Lal10 managed to quickly pivot to meet the intense demand for personal protective equipment, while continuing to connect its artisans to dignified work – and building a more efficient company in the process.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise
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