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The Nexus of Agriculture and Energy in Africa: Five Lessons for Bridging the Ag-Energy Gap
Agriculture should be a key market for rural energy providers in Africa. Growing agribusinesses and smallholder farmers need modern energy to thrive, and rural energy enterprises need reliable consumers to anchor demand for their services. Yet as Seth Silverman and Tom Chaplin at Factor[e] Ventures explain, a gap remains between the two industries, and ag-energy projects struggle to draw commercial investment. They explore some promising ways to fill that gap, sharing lessons from a new report.
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- Agriculture, Energy
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Bitcoin Too Volatile To Aid Financial Inclusion, Says Mastercard CEO
The inherent volatility of Bitcoin makes it ill-fitted for the needs of unbanked people, argued Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga.
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- Finance, Technology
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A New Status Quo for Workers: Shaping A Good Jobs Recovery from COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic wiped out 30 million jobs in the U.S. in the first four months, and an estimated 120 million jobs in India. As the U.S. celebrates Labor Day, Bulbul Gupta at Pacific Community Ventures and Sachi Shenoy at Upaya Social Ventures argue that recovery from this crisis will require more than a return to the pre-COVID status quo. It will require impact investors, business leaders, governments and others to create "the kinds of jobs that uplift their communities to a better tomorrow."
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- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Financing “Missing Middle” Enterprises in the Age of COVID-19: Leveraging Nontraditional Finance Pathways in Emerging Markets
COVID-19 has made access to capital for small and growing businesses in emerging markets more essential than ever. But according to Julia Kho at Triple Jump and Kusi Hornberger at Dalberg Advisors, these businesses have very different crisis-related financing needs. They explore how finance providers can understand these diverse needs and identify the best approaches to fill them.
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- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Investing
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SME Investing With a Gender Lens: The Key To COVID-19 Recovery in Emerging Markets
It can be hard to think about recovery while much of the world remains in the eye of the COVID-19 storm. But according to Vanessa Erogbogbo at the International Trade Centre and Ayesha Khanna at CARE Enterprises Inc., we must begin to envision a world on the other side of the pandemic – and that process must involve investment in small businesses that create positive economic impact for women.
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- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Investing
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How Fintech Platform CNote Gives Socially Conscious Investors New Ways to Battle Inequality: An Interview With Catherine Berman
Catherine Berman is CEO and cofounder of CNote, an innovative fintech platform that unlocks new investment opportunities for retail and institutional investors. Working with mission-aligned community lenders, CNote aims to close the wealth gap by allowing anyone to invest in small businesses, affordable housing and economic development in financially underserved communities, with a focus on lending to women and minorities.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Analysis: The Rise of Water Investing
Clean water and sanitation for all is the subject of the United Nations’ sixth sustainable development goal, and an increasingly relevant topic to both emerging markets and the developed world. The need for water infrastructure is great in the developing world, and in the developed world, ensuring access to clean water is an ever-present issue, as recent crises have illustrated. This brings opportunities for investors.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing, WASH
- Tags
- climate change, environment, infrastructure, innovation, investing, SDGs, WASH, water
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Analysis: Emerging Markets and Innovation: Twin Pillars of the Solar Tracker Market
Global solar tracker shipments reached new record levels in 2019, exceeding 31 GW, up 55% year on year. Exceptional demand in the United States – as well as multiple gigawatt markets in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Australia – helped propel the market to new heights, writes Cormac Gilligan, associate director at IHS Markit.
- Categories
- Energy, Entrepreneurship
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