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Co-Creating a More Equitable World: The Transformative Benefits of Participatory Design
Technology is often designed for people — not with them or by them. Participatory design, says Sher Vogel of MIT D-Lab, is meant to change that. She explores how the method, which actively involves end-users in the design process, can produce products that are better aligned to people’s needs, while also building the skills and confidence of participants. Vogel explains how the process can be applied to business, technology and humanitarian aid, summarizes some challenges it can present, and shares links to upcoming MIT D-Lab courses that can provide a framework.
- Categories
- Technology, WASH
- Tags
- innovation, product design
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Press Release: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Grants a $3 Million Euros Loan to Pahal in Favour of Financial Inclusion in India
The microfinance sector has become a key instrument to fight financial exclusion in the country by providing financial and non-financial services to people excluded from the banking system.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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$1.2 Million Innovation Fund Launched to Unearth Emerging Technologies in Africa
The African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) (www.AECFafrica.org) has today launched a US$1.2 million Innovation Fund to unlock the potential of renewable energy to create new business opportunities.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- innovation, renewable energy, scale, solar
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Outdated but Not Obsolete: Why USSD Is Still Key to Driving Digital Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa
As of late 2019, mobile internet adoption stood at just 26% across sub-Saharan Africa, and internet access remains expensive and unreliable even for people who can afford a smartphone. In light of that reality, Wole Olayinka of insiderPR argues that digital inclusion efforts should embrace USSD, a communications protocol that connects feature phone users to basic digital services even without internet access. He explores the advantages and downsides of this outdated – but surprisingly flexible – technology.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
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Educating the Sustainability Generation: How Universities Can Advance Social Business and Innovation
The world is facing unprecedented challenges, and new economic systems centered around social and environmental impact can help solve them, say Aline Laucke and Ella-Maria Gollmer of Studio Nima. But to build a more sustainable future, they explain, universities need to integrate innovative concepts like social business into their educational models. They explore the benefits – and challenges – of bringing this new focus to higher education.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise
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Atal Innovation Mission, Amazon Web Services Collaborate to Accelerate Ed-Tech Entrepreneurship in India
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog and Amazon Web Services (AWS) Thursday collaborated to promote ed-tech entrepreneurship through incubation centres and build ed-tech solutions using cloud computing.
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- edtech, innovation, youth
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Winning the Low-Income Market: Assessing the State of Product Development in the Nigerian Financial Service Industry
Nigeria's financial inclusion goals have gone unmet, and the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed progress even further. Olayinka David-West and Ibukun Taiwo of the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services initiative of the Lagos Business School share the results of their 2020 study on the state of the Nigerian market, exploring the product development practices of the country's financial service providers – and how they could be improved.
- Categories
- Finance
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Analysis: Nestlé and Microsoft on Financing Circular Innovations
Nestlé and Microsoft are among the noteworthy corporations putting considerable investments behind circular programs involving products and services, in service of their sustainability targets and with an eye to spark broader change across their industries.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing