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Serving Refugee Communities with Tech, Energy Access, Entrepreneurship: Mastercard and USAID’s Collective Approach
Last year, USAID and Mastercard established the Smart Communities Coalition (SCC), a network of 35+ public and private organizations. The group is developing new ways companies, NGOs, governments and UN agencies can co-design and co-implement programs that empower people and enable growth in energy access, connectivity and digital tools. Katrina Pielli with USAID and Sasha Kapadia with Mastercard explain why the group chose to focus on Uganda and Kenya as pilot countries, which collectively host over 1.5 million refugees.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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Bringing Biogas to Billions: Why PAYGO Could be the Key to Scaling the Industry
Small scale biogas digesters (biodigesters) convert animal manure into biogas for clean cooking and high-quality organic fertilizer. The technology is hardly new – in fact, it's been around for 150 years. But for farmers to benefit on a mass scale, companies will need to lean on new technology and innovative business models, writes Ben Jeffreys, CEO of ATEC* Biodigesters International. That means learning the lessons of the off-grid solar industry and devising new pay-as-you-go models to enable the inclusion of low-income customers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy
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Renewable Energy Market Employs 11 Million in 2018
Eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018 according to the latest analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Investors With US$2 Billion Urge Donors to Ramp up Support for Mini-Grids in Africa
Specifically, the 12 investors, which have more than US$2 billion under management, said that the missing catalyst for scaling mini-grids was an effective results-based financing (RBF) mechanism.
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LevelTen Energy Raises $20.5 Million to Simplify Renewable Energy Sales
CEO Bryce Smith says that the fresh capital will be used to expand LevelTen’s product suite in North America and Europe, open its platform to new channel providers, and grow the company’s workforce.
- Categories
- Energy
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Nigeria’s Unreliable Electricity Costs Its Economy $29 Billion a Year—Solar Power Would Save Billions
This unreliable power supply is a major hindrance to Nigeria’s economic growth. It also costs the country an enormous amount of money.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Time to Shift Gears: Despite Positive Trends, Off-Grid Solar Needs More Investment to Grow
It's true that 2018 was a fairly positive year for investments in off-grid solar. But according to GOGLA, the global association for the industry, this progress isn’t enough. With more than 150 off-grid solar companies and stakeholders as members, GOGLA closely monitors investment flows in the sector. Based on analysis of its deal database, it has realized that the industry will need a significant increase in funding to reach the target of universal energy by 2030. GOGLA analysts share five trends in off-grid solar funding they've observed in the recent data.
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Global Population Without Access To Electricity Drops By 400 Million Since 2010
Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report shows that progress has been made to increase overall renewable energy deployment. Nevertheless, ramping up the progress globally requires stronger political action, long-term energy planning, greater levels of financing along with better policy and fiscal incentives.
- Categories
- Energy
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