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‘It’s Not About Subsidies’ – And Five Other Myths About Blended Finance
The excitement around blended finance is growing – but so are the misconceptions about it. Bjoern Struewer at Roots of Impact highlights five myths about the approach, and argues that investors and public funders should admit – and embrace – one inconvenient truth: By providing catalytic capital to mobilize commercial investment, blended finance is subsidizing private investors' returns.
- Categories
- Investing
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Viewpoint: How China’s Belt And Road Became A ‘Global Trail Of Trouble’
In some markets, Chinese investment has nearly become a euphemism for wasteful spending, environmental destruction and untenable debt.
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Full, Yet Undernourished? How India Can Move from Food Security to Nutrition Security
India now produces enough food for its population – but recurring famines plagued the country for decades. In response, the government strengthened the distribution system to bring essential food grains to marginalized households. But as analysts at MSC point out, improving access to food is not the same as ensuring optimal nutrition. They explore solutions that could help India move from food security to nutrition security – and how the private sector can play a role.
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- Agriculture
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SDG500: New Platform Plans to Pump $500M Into Action on the Sustainable Development Goals
The platform will focus on supporting firms in agriculture, finance, energy, education and healthcare across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific regions. It includes provisions to protect certain portions of investors' capital, sponsored by the European Union, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, the governments of Luxembourg, Togo and Tunisia, CARE and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
- Categories
- Investing
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The Hidden Value of Untapped Ideas: Three Development Sector Approaches that Deserve a Second Look
The development challenges facing African countries – from income inequality to crippling infrastructure gaps – are huge and growing. But while tackling these issues will require innovative responses, “innovative” may not necessarily mean “new.” Aubrey Hruby at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center explores three ideas that the development sector discarded – or never considered in the first place – which may hold the key to solving some of Africa’s biggest challenges.
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- Social Enterprise, Transportation
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Learning is an Afterthought at Most Donor-Funded Programs: Here’s How to Make it a Priority
Despite the millions of dollars funders spend on it each year, learning remains a low priority within donor-funded programs. Why? According to Anne Maftei at the Mastercard Foundation Rural & Agricultural Finance Learning Lab, it's because these programs are built for implementation rather than knowledge creation. But while this is understandable, it's not ideal – Maftei explores ways funders can make learning less onerous and more useful for their partner organizations.
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- Impact Assessment
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Press Release: Global Digital Health Index Expands Platform for Multilingual Access
The Global Digital Health Index (GDHI) — an interactive digital resource that tracks, monitors, and evaluates the use of digital technology for health across countries — is now available in 4 additional languages: Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
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- Health Care
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Gates Foundation Mobile Money Projects in Developing World to Go Live This Year
Kosta Peric, deputy director of financial services for the poor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said projects in Pakistan, Tanzania and eight West African countries could go live as early as the middle of this year.
- Categories
- Finance