-
The Switchback Solution: Is ‘Pay and Cook’ a Game Changer in the Movement to Popularize Cleaner Cooking Fuels?
For years, countless entrepreneurs have been trying to enable low-income people in emerging markets to move from traditional fuels to clean cooking fuels. But they've struggled with the same problem: customers’ tendency to switch back to traditional fuels when it comes time to buy refills for their clean cooking fuel tanks. Emmy Wasirwa at WANA Energy Solutions discusses his company's innovative solution to this challenge.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise
-
WASH Away Inequity: Lack of Access to Safe Water is the Most Crippling Obstacle Limiting Human Potential
On World Water Day, consider that 844 million people (nearly 1 in 9) lack a drinking water source that is accessible within a 30-minute round trip from their home. But though this problem can be solved by installing a tap or rain harvesting system, the upfront cost of up to $200 is often prohibitive for people living in poverty. Water.org co-founder and CEO Gary White highlights the power of the poor, when given affordable financing, to provide their own solution to the global water crisis.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing, WASH
-
Report: Recovery Lending Program Prevents Thousands of African Families from Falling into Extreme Poverty after Climate Shocks
A report released by DFID, World Vision UK and VisionFund International has revealed that an innovative market-based approach was central in building resilience to the El Nino climate shock that impacted East Africa throughout 2016 and early 2017. These findings are critical as climate change continues to impact the world’s most vulnerable communities.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Powering Communities Through a Surprising Source of Renewable Energy: Human Waste
Around the world, a staggering 2.5 billion people lack access to decent toilets. That leads to far too many people getting sick from preventable diseases. Anne Healy and Erin Crossett of Development Innovation Ventures say the good news is that some enterprising companies are experimenting with ways to make human waste disposal profitable in the developing world.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Health Care, WASH
-
Nat Geo, GSK Launch Chasing Genius Challenge to Tackle Climate Change, Global Health
The challenge was inspired by National Geographic’s first scripted series GENIUS, based on the book, Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. Using the hashtag #chasinggenius, National Geographic has crowdsourced ideas and identified issues that the global community is most concerned about.
- Categories
- Environment
-
It’s Global Health: Nobody Said It Was Going to Be Easy
Recent elections around the world have shown a tilt toward protectionism and nationalism, and that's not necessarily good news for global health. But, as we've seen during Health Care Month at NextBillion, those in the sector aren't taking their eye off the ball. Vanessa Kerry of Seed Global Health summarized: "Public health is an endeavor far greater than any nation’s individual interests or borders."
- Categories
- Health Care
-
Energy Urgency: Why the Global Mining Industry is Embracing Renewables
November’s elections have given the 2015 Paris agreement unprecedented urgency, as 194 signatories race to keep temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. Yet COP21’s enduring challenge for investors – scaling climate-resilient industries in the developing world – remains elusive. Meanwhile, according to Joseph Kirschke, mines around the world are innovation and energy-intensive ecosystems brimming with solutions just below the surface.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
-
A Simple, Painless Way Governments Can Help the Poor and the Environment
In Haiti there’s a 15 percent tariff and tax on clean cookstoves. Based on elasticity of demand, Dalberg projects that if improved cookstoves’ taxes and tariffs were eliminated, their annual sales would increase by 13 percent, from 185,000 to 209,000. This in turn would mitigate costs associated with health and environment consequences of traditional cooking techniques.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care