-
Supporting Farmers and Food Systems: How Crowdfunding Can Address Funding Challenges for Agricultural SMEs in Africa
Agriculture employs over 70% of the working population in Africa, making it a cornerstone of the continent's economic progress and livelihood development. But as Esther Mweru and Jerry Sellanga at 2SCALE explain, the financial strain of COVID-19 — combined with previously existing market inefficiencies — is putting many vulnerable farmers and agricultural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at risk. They explore how crowdfunding can provide a financial lifeline to these smallholders and businesses, and discuss how 2SCALE is using it to support agribusinesses in Mali, Nigeria and Kenya.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Technology
-
Analysis: How the Regulatory Framework for Crowdfunding Platforms in Southeast Asia Will Benefit SMEs and Investors
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has come a long way since its early days as a casual crowdfunding platform. Today, individual borrowers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can access loans without the hassle of going through banks and lengthy financial assessments.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
Crowdfunding For Clean Energy — Raise Green Launches New Marketplace
Founded by Peter Krajsa and Matthew Brown, NEIF currently manages more than $800 million worth of “innovative energy financing programs.”
-
Innovating on the Pay for Success Model: How ‘Social Derivatives’ Can Unlock Everyday Giving to Incentivize Greater Impact
Pay-for-success models have generated considerable excitement in the social finance sector. But according to Akhil Pawar and Geet Kalra at Yunus Social Business, the approach presents several challenges, mainly around the question of who will pay, and how to ensure an economical structure. They share a potential solution that leverages retail giving, substituting large donors with small ones by using "social derivatives."
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
-
Southeast Asia’s Fintech Startups Face Shakeout From Coronavirus
The coronavirus is unlikely to halt the rapid advance of fintech firms in the emerging landscapes of Southeast Asia. Along the way, however, it is amplifying the gains of some startups while inflicting pain on many others.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
Too Risky for the Crowd? Assessing the Potential of Crowdfunding for Energy Access
Crowdfunding raised $77 million for energy access between 2015 and the end of June 2019 – and the industry is on pace to generate over $200 million in crowdsourced financing by 2020. But despite this growth, Davinia Cogan at Energy 4 Impact points out that crowdfunding remains on the periphery of discussions about energy access finance. With the sector's estimated $33 billion in commercial capital needs, she explores whether – and how – the crowd can be part of the financing mix.
- Tags
- crowdfunding, energy access, SDGs
-
Kiva’s Crowdfunding Platform Transforms Into Hub for Impact Investing and Financial Inclusion
“One of the things that goes unnoticed about Kiva is our quiet but continued pursuit of the impact being achieved,” says Premal Shah, who until 2018 was president and the only remaining cofounder still with Kiva. “This is hard to do and hard to measure. But it is critical.”
- Categories
- Finance
-
Press release: SolarHome raises US$10 million in debt financing, targets 100,000 off-grid households in Myanmar by the end of 2019
The new funds will enable SolarHome, which has already installed close to 28,000 solar home systems, to accelerate expansion across Myanmar. Through this expansion, the company aims to reach 100,000 homes with its product packages that include budget, basic and premium solar system bundles for lighting and phone charging purposes, as well as TV bundles.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Asia Pacific
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.