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Egyptian E-Health Startup Reme-D Raises $1.45 Million Pre-Series a Funding
Founded in 2023 by Salma Tammam, Reme-D develops and manufactures molecular diagnostic tests for diseases including tuberculosis (TB), HIV, hepatitis, and HPV, with a focus on delivering affordable, temperature-resilient diagnostics for underserved markets across Africa.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Taking First-Loss Guarantees Further: Four Problems That Keep Social Enterprises Stuck, and How Entrepreneurship Support Organizations Can Address Them
Grants and equity dominate the conversation in impact finance, but according to Srinivas Ramanujam at Villgro, debt is often the most practical tool for social enterprises that are too large for a grant, but too small and early-stage for most equity investors. And since lenders face real and perceived risks around these companies' creditworthiness, first-loss guarantees can help make debt capital more accessible. However, he explains that a guarantee alone is not a silver bullet, and that the harder work involves solving the problems that keep enterprises stuck. He explores how Villgro has addressed four of these key challenges, highlighting takeaways for entrepreneurship support organizations and other intermediaries.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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PolicyStreet Raises US $5 Million to Expand Insurance for Gig Workers and SMEs
BlueOrchard's investment reflects growing interest in businesses that combine commercial growth with measurable social impact, particularly around financial inclusion and access to essential services.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Acumen’s ARAF Fund Raises $90 Million to Take Its Climate-Resilience Playbook to North Africa
ARAF aims to deliver direct impact to at least an additional 4m farmers with the fresh capital, managed by Acumen Capital Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kenyan Startups Fuzu and Kyosk Secure Funding from Jobtech Alliance
Jobtech Alliance, an ecosystem-building initiative around inclusive jobtech in Africa steered by Mercy Corps and BFA Global, aims to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to build platforms that deliver quality livelihoods, are inclusive, and enable users to engage in decent work.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A New Chapter for the GIIN
Today’s world is very different from the world we were in when the GIIN started. Discourse has evolved from whether investors should pursue impact to how they do so in an incredibly dynamic and tumultuous time. It’s a pivotal moment for the impact investing industry and the GIIN because the need for solutions makes our work more vital than ever.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: Catalyst Fund Deepens Bet on Africa’s Climate Resilience Founders
Catalyst Fund, the pan-African venture fund and venture builder backing founders from pre-seed to Series A, has announced the completion of its second close, with total commitments now reaching $30 million.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Spring Impact Appoints Emma Colenbrander as CEO
Emma’s experience spans social entrepreneurship, development innovation and strategy, as a 2 x founder with a track record of building impactful organisations and supporting founders and enterprises across Africa, Asia, Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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