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Supporting the Resilience of Small Businesses in India: The Value of Flexible Funding During a Crisis
Over 122 million people in India lost their jobs during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in April of 2020, and small traders and wage workers accounted for around 75% of those job losses. Amit Choudhary at Upaya Social Ventures explores how Upaya pivoted to support small businesses during that challenging time, discussing the evolving funding strategies it used — and how these approaches can provide a model for the broader impact investing sector during periods of crisis.
- Categories
- Investing
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Press Release: Launch of the First Impact Loan Facility for Coral Reef Conservation
The Blue Finance Facility aims to support the development of innovative reef-positive businesses that bolster the Blue Economy in and around the Marine Protected Areas.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Global
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$1.57 Billion Loan From World Bank Approved for Nigeria
The bank said the money would help increase availability and effectiveness of financing for basic education and primary healthcare service delivery.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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African Countries Eye World’s First Joint ‘Debt-For-Nature’ Swap
Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique have all lost significant portions of mangrove shoreline, coral reefs and fish stock since the 1980s, threatening loss of livelihoods, food security and income from tourism.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact bonds, lending, tourism
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International Investors Raise $34.5 Million for Digital Finance Firm Serving Indian MSMEs
FlexiLoans seeks to improve access to financial resources for millions of micro and small-scale entrepreneurs who are excluded from traditional lending, because they lack a conventional credit history.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Senegalese Fintech Startup Rubyx Secures $440,000 Loan From Proparco
Rubyx has developed a cloud-native, API-driven digital lending platform that enables service providers to rapidly launch innovative loan products and meet the evolved expectations of borrowers.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Solving the Funding Challenges of Indian MSMEs: The Advantages of Founder-Friendly Non-Dilutive Financing
About 30% of India’s GDP is generated by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which provide jobs for more than 110 million people and account for around 50% of the country’s exports. But as Bhavik Vasa at GetVantage points out, a drop in private equity and venture capital investments has led many of these entrepreneurs to shift towards more founder-friendly types of non-dilutive capital. He discusses the funding challenges facing Indian MSMEs, and why alternative forms of non-dilutive financing are uniquely suited to these businesses' needs.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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South Africa Fintech Startup Omnisient Raises $7.5 Million Series A Funding for Global Expansion
South African “privacy-by-design” startup Omnisient has raised US$7.5 million in Series A funding to support its expansion across Africa and beyond.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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