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Viewpoint: Are Tech Solutions Fixing Mobility in African Cities or Just Masking the Problem?
Ride-hailing and mobility apps do not build roads. They do not expand rail systems or redesign cities. Instead, they optimize access to what already exists.
- Categories
- Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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When Uncertainty Becomes Structural: Entrepreneurship Support Organisations as Ecosystem Infrastructure in a New Fiscal Reality
Over the past year, the global development sector has changed at a speed and scale that would have seemed unlikely even two years ago. According to long-time development consultants Stephen Hunt and Nelson Okwonna, as funding dries up and uncertainty becomes structural, entrepreneurship support organizations (ESOs) are increasingly providing the collective functions that were once financed, governed and sustained through donor- and publicly funded programs. They discuss the implications of this shift for ESOs and entrepreneurs, exploring what it reveals about the key needs of entrepreneurship ecosystems — and about how ESOs must evolve to meet those needs.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Press Release: Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance Invest More Than US $100 Million to Expand Electricity in Africa
Since The Rockefeller Foundation and the Alliance first announced their initial US$10 million commitment, their collective support has grown to more than US$100 million for Mission 300 in 23 countries to date.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Adenia Hits $180 Million Hard Cap at First Close for Entrepreneurial Fund, Announces First Investment
The successful first close underscores the continued appetite among global investors for disciplined, impact-oriented strategies in Africa. It also highlights the emerging theme of consolidation and institutionalization within the African private equity landscape.
- Categories
- Investing
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The Trade-offs in African Energy Access are Real: Why Electrification Efforts Must Prioritise Industrial Use over Household Connections
In the face of stagnating progress, a debate has emerged about whether energy access efforts in Africa should prioritize household or industrial and commercial electrification. Taiwo Odugbemi, a power sector regulation specialist and economist, pushes back on the argument that household access should take precedence over industrial uses — and the assertion that Africa can pursue both goals simultaneously. He explains why maintaining a dual focus may not be realistic, given the continent’s grid limitations and constrained public resources, and argues that African electricity policies must evolve to prioritize productive use, particularly in industrial and agro-processing hubs.
- Categories
- Energy
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Analysis: Who Pays for Dignity? Rethinking India’s Waste Economy
Despite the essential role that waste workers perform in any functioning city, they are often severely underpaid and denied the dignity, security, and recognition they deserve.
- Categories
- WASH
- Region
- Global
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What Drives Corporate Philanthropy in Asia: Exploring the Region’s Unique Approach to Giving
As Asian wealth has surged in recent decades, so has the region’s corporate philanthropy. According to Gwendolyn Lim and Denise Chew at the Bridgespan Group, the 20 top Asian corporate funders alone commit an average of $3.7 billion annually to social and environmental causes. They explore the factors that are driving this trend — from Asian business culture to government CSR policies — and discuss three widely used approaches to corporate giving in Asia, as highlighted in a recent Bridgespan report.
- Categories
- Investing
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Press Release: Rockefeller Foundation Commits an Additional US $10 Million to Accelerate Electricity Connections Across Africa by 2030
The Rockefeller Foundation is collaborating with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet to fast-track electrification efforts in at least 15 African countries.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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