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Navigating the Financing Paradox for WSMEs: Workable Solutions for Increasing Financial Inclusion Among Women-Owned or -Led Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
In Africa, an estimated $42 billion financing gap exists for small and medium-sized enterprises owned or led by women (WSMEs). According to Nathalie Gogue-Ebo, Crystal Mugimba, Millie Maina and Shiemaa Ahmed at Open Capital, this gap has persisted despite the fact that women own the majority of the continent’s SMEs, and that globally, they default on their loans at a rate 53% lower than men. They explore the main roadblocks facing African WSMEs, and share some solutions that can ensure that these women entrepreneurs have access to the capital they need to thrive.
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Rethinking our Approach to Multilateral Collaboration: Why it’s Time to Give the Philanthropic and Private Sectors an Equal Seat at the Table
With only 17% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on track, doubts are growing about the effectiveness of the world's current approach to multilateral collaboration. As Simon Sommer at the Jacobs Foundation and Dina Ghobashy at Microsoft argue, part of the problem is that businesses and philanthropic organizations are rarely viewed — or treated — as equal partners of international institutions and national governments in pursuing development goals. They propose a new approach to multilateralism, based on greater cohesion between the public, private and non-profit sectors.
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Developing Vaccine Infrastructure in the Age of COVID Fatigue: How Strengthening Influenza Vaccination Systems Can Prepare Us for the Next Pandemic
It's widely known in the global health community that we must prepare for the inevitable emergence of another pandemic. But as Joseph Bresee at the Task Force for Global Health explains, this threat no longer feels urgent to many people who are still exhausted from fighting COVID-19 and other global threats. And though advances in vaccine development provide reasons for hope, building the systems that deliver them is difficult and time-consuming. He explores how stabilizing and expanding global influenza vaccine delivery systems can prepare the world for a more effective response to future pandemics.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Press Release: 251 Million Children and Youth Still Out of School, Despite Decades of Progress
The global out-of-school population has reduced by only 1% in nearly ten years, according to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2024 unveiled today. Chronic under-investment in education, particularly in low-income countries, is one of the main causes. In synergy with the G20, chaired this year by Brazil, UNESCO calls on its Member States to leverage innovative financing mechanisms such as debt-for-education swaps.
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- global development, SDGs, youth
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Zombie Stats are Running Rampant in the Agrifood Sector: Why They’re Dangerous, and How We Can Stop Them
“Up to 70% of the labor involved in coffee farming is supplied by women.” You may have seen this widely used statistic in articles and reports — perhaps you've even cited it yourself. But this number is based on old and extremely flimsy evidence, and as Cait Nordehn at TechnoServe argues, it highlights a troubling issue in the agrifood and broader global development sectors: the ongoing use of “zombie stats” — outdated, inaccurate or incomplete statistics that simply will not die. She explores why this problem has persisted, and how it can be addressed.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Analysis: Systems Change Isn’t One Thing. Financing Should Reflect That
From experimentation to redesign to optimization, the interconnected processes by which systems are changed require distinct forms of funding.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Statement from Mandy Rambharos, CEO, on Restructuring Verra
Amid ongoing market volatility, this reduction allows for energy and resources to be directed towards the programs and services that matter most.
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: DFC Announces Its Largest Wind Energy Investment
DFC financing will support the development, construction, and operation of nine wind power plants.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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