-
Loom Solar Raises $2 Million Funding from SIMA Funds
Loom Solar has raised $2 Million funding from US based Social Investment Managers and Advisors (SIMA) under the Energy Access Relief Fund (EARF) supported by the World Bank, DFC, BII, FMO, IFC and others.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
Simba Telecom to Invest $1 Million in New Year Investment Plans to Boost Its Market Presence
The investment will allow Simba Group to reach wider geographical zones and ultimately improve speed to market.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Unleashing Women Entrepreneurs by Challenging Gender Norms: An Innovative Approach to Changing Beliefs Around Household Chores
Globally, women and girls are responsible for three-quarters of unpaid care work, due to the still-common belief that a woman’s role in society is to take care of the home. As Trisha Clauson at Bopinc and Annegien Langedijk-Wilms at Growing Initiatives explain, this is preventing countless women entrepreneurs from building their businesses, reducing emerging markets' GDP by trillions of dollars. They explore an innovative program that leveraged mass media to foster more equitable gender norms around household chores in Nigeria, sharing learnings that can be used by other organizations supporting women entrepreneurs.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
The Warehouse Solution: Why Smart Storage is the Key to Africa’s Food Security
A chain of overlapping crises has raised urgent questions about the state of food security in Africa. This has led to a growing focus on boosting the region's agricultural productivity and strengthening intra-Africa trade. But according to Kamaldeen Raji at AFEX, storage has traditionally been a neglected aspect of these efforts – despite the fact that almost 40% of Africa's food perishes before it reaches consumers. He explores why improving storage infrastructure is an essential step in establishing true food security on the continent.
- Categories
- Agriculture
-
A $500 Billion+ Market Opportunity for Real Impact: Three Ways Corporations Can Engage in Social Procurement
Social procurement – the practice of corporations buying products or services from social businesses – has gained substantial momentum in recent years. According to a report released earlier this year, the overall market volume of social procurement currently exceeds $2.5 billion, and it could reach $506 billion over the next decade. Jo Bautista at Yunus Social Business explores how corporations can get involved in social procurement, sharing three ways they can integrate social businesses into their value chains.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
-
Bringing Digital Innovation to the Global Art Market: An Innovative Platform Connects International Buyers to Emerging Markets Artists
Business models across all industries are rapidly embracing digital technology. But as Srikaran Masabathula at TapArt explains, the global art market remains stuck in its centuries-old, brick-and-mortar sales and distribution model – a model that perpetuates the age-old inequities in the art world, preventing talented artists from emerging economies from selling their artwork to global art buyers. He explores how TapArt is leveraging digital innovation to address these critical shortcomings and create a vibrant connection between art lovers and artists worldwide.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
-
An Overlooked Path to Health Impact: Four Tools to Increase Consumption Frequency for Beneficial Consumer Goods
Fast-moving consumer goods like fortified food products can improve nutrition in low- and middle-income countries. But as Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath and Louise Berthault at Hystra point out, they can only deliver health impact if they are consumed every day or every other day. They explore how increasing the consumption frequency of these products can boost their nutritional and health impact and drive companies' sales growth, and share four tools that can motivate consistent and frequent consumption patterns among low-income consumers.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise
-
From Impact Investing to ‘Impact-First’ Investing: Seven Ways Investors Can Take a Holistic Lifecycle Approach to Impact
Impact investing is playing a growing role in addressing many complex societal problems. But as Varad Pande and Twinkle Malhan at Omidyar Network India point out, one of the critiques of the sector is that its approach to impact is not holistic – i.e., many investors' focus on impact stops after a fund's strategy has been set and its deals have been vetted. To address this issue, they propose a more holistic approach to creating impact across the lifecycle of each investment – from sourcing higher-impact deals, to supporting investees' efforts to sustain and increase their impact.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing