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Distribute Cash, not COVID-19: Five Ways Policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa Can Provide Cash Transfers Safely
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, 35 countries have introduced new cash transfer programs in response to the pandemic. Cash is one of the most effective ways to support people during a crisis, say Martin Gould and Nate Vernon at IDInsight. But administering cash transfers in low-income countries can raise some big questions for policymakers. They discuss five ways governments in sub-Saharan Africa can manage these programs safely and effectively.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Could China Be a White Knight Again for Latin America?
China helped spare the region from the worst of the 2008-09 financial crisis. But recently, its lending to Latin America has been in decline.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Region
- Latin America
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Data Mapping Key to Track Disease Spread and Plug Health Gaps, Experts Say
“It sounds almost obvious, but we can’t get a health worker in a community if we don’t know that community exists,” said Avi Kenny, former director of research, monitoring, and evaluation at nonprofit organization Last Mile Health, adding that census data in low- and middle-income countries is often not that good.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Technology
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New Data and Technologies are Transforming Energy Access – Public Policy Must Catch Up
Technologies like geospatial imagery, machine learning and affordable batteries are generating ever more innovative ways to target customers with off-grid energy solutions. But according to analysts at the Duke University Energy Access Project, public policy is struggling to keep up with these rapid-fire developments, leaving vast amounts of human capacity and productivity untapped. They explore how to address this disconnect between government and the private sector.
- Categories
- Energy
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Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Push Africa’s Mobile Money Markets to the Next Level?
Kenya is arguably the world's top mobile money market, and one reason for its success is that a “trigger” event – the post-election violence of 2008 – forced the rapid, large-scale adoption of mobile payment services. Jill Lagos Shemin explores how the unique demands of the coronavirus pandemic could prove to be a similar catalyst for mobile money growth in other countries, and how providers and other stakeholders can build upon this momentum to create more inclusive digital ecosystems for underserved customers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Press Release: Blue Planet Raises US$25 million from Nomura
This strategic engagement by Nomura's Loans and Principal Investments Area in Asia ex-Japan will help Blue Planet continue its efforts to develop integrated, inclusive and sustainable waste management solutions around the region.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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How Can Inclusive Finance Help in a Pandemic?
We were huddled in a routine team discussion at FSD Kenya when we received news of the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Kenya. We began thinking about how we could help our communities through the uncertainty and how the financial sector can help navigate these challenging times.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Enterprise in the Time of Coronavirus: How NextBillion and the Businesses We Cover Are Responding to the Pandemic
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world, it will have an immense impact on emerging markets communities and the businesses that serve them. So we wanted to take a moment to explain how NextBillion will be responding to these extraordinary times. We’re instituting a number of measures that will affect our coverage of coronavirus and other topics in the coming months.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Social Enterprise