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Out of the Shadows: Providing Employment and Empowerment to India’s Transgender Community
India’s transgender women community, or Hijra, has a recorded history of over 4,000 years, and once held a respected position in the country's political and spiritual life. But today, violence, hate crimes and discrimination against the Hijra are common, and dignified employment is scarce. Manish Jain co-founded Kineer Services to address these issues - he discusses the ways Kineer creates job opportunities and supports the mental and physical health of the Hijra, and other sexual minorities and neglected communities.
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- Uncategorized
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Tech Startups Are Flooding Kenya With Apps Offering High-Interest Loans
Tala has made $1 billion in microloans to people in developing countries, all using its app. It says it can reach those who’ve been ignored by banks, because its software generates instant credit ratings from data scraped off prospective borrowers’ phones. The company is part of the financial-inclusion movement, a loose coalition of tech companies, banks, and nongovernmental organizations trying to lift people out of poverty by offering them new ways to gain access to loans and other financial services.
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- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Can Emerging Economies Navigate the Mobility Transition?
In a world characterised by rapid urbanization, inadequate infrastructure, congestion and deteriorating air quality, as well as economic inequality and an evolving rural landscape, an improved mobility ecosystem should be fundamentally accessible, affordable, connected and clean.
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What’s Working – And What’s Not – in Africa: A New Report Aims to Inform Better Development Practice on the Continent
The challenges facing Africa are substantial – but so too are the unique assets the continent possesses. As the development sector works to address those challenges and leverage those assets, it's useful to highlight both the approaches that are working – and those that aren't. That's the goal of Next Generation's recent report on the social investment and development industry trends impacting Africa. Reana Rossouw explores its findings.
- Categories
- Technology
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Press Release: Global Partnerships and Acceso El Salvador Announce New Partnership to Further Improve the Opportunities and Incomes of Salvadoran Smallholder Farmers and Fishers Through Expanding Into High-Value Processing
Global Partnerships Social Investment Fund 6.0 issued a $750,000 USD loan to Acceso Oferta Local – Productos de El Salvador (“Acceso El Salvador”). Acceso El Salvador is the leading local agribusiness working with smallholder farmers and fishers to boost agricultural productivity, create job opportunities, and cement long-term market linkages.
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- Press Release
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Latin America
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Africa’s Tech Startup ‘Investment Frenzy’: Fact, Fantasy – or a Wakeup Call for Better Investing Strategies?
Are Africa's tech startups really facing an "investment frenzy" that's driving excessive valuations, growth-at-all-cost business models and unrealistic investor expectations? That was impact investor Lauren Cochran's argument in a much-discussed NextBillion article. But according to Marsha Wulff at LoftyInc Capital Management, the problem isn't an excess of funding – it's "group-think" among foreign investors who don't see the true value of local, African-led startups.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Press Release: Financial Inclusion in West Africa Gets a Boost With New $10M Raise by Aella Fintech
For millions of poor and low-income households, entrepreneurs, and nascent businesses in West Africa without access to financial institutions, micro-lending fintechs like Aella provide a broader array of financial products — savings, insurance, payments and specialized loans, focused on lifting many out of poverty. Aella plans to use this funding to scale its lending operations and expand its product base into payments.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Trump’s Latest “Visa Ban” Poses a Threat—and an Opportunity—to Nigeria’s Tech Ecosystem
While Nigeria is not the only country affected by the “ban”, it is, by far, the most high profile country affected by what the Trump administration describes as a penalty for unsatisfactory security and information sharing standards.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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