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Quick Wins for Digital Agriculture: Why Digitizing Aggregation Centers is a Fast Path to Long-Term Impact for Smallholders
Discussion of digital agriculture innovation often focuses on buzzworthy technologies like the internet of things, artificial intelligence and blockchain. But though these technologies will eventually define the future of the sector, Ananth R Gudipati at the World Food Programme and Paul Kweheria at Mercy Corps say we should start with the basics – getting farmer organizations and SMEs to use digital tech to streamline their operations. They share insights from a digital platform developed by the Farm to Market Alliance that’s doing just that.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Sustainable Connectivity: How Biofuels Can Boost Mobile Access, Support Small Farmers – And Fight Climate Change
Mobile connectivity is sweeping through rural Africa and Asia – but it has a major drawback. It’s dependent on cellular towers that often rely either on diesel power, which has economic and ecological costs and limited availability, or solar panels, which require clear, sunny skies. Fortunately, another solution is emerging: bioenergy. John Garrity, Dennis Garrity and James Daniel at the Evergreening Global Alliance explore its positive impact on food security, grid infrastructure and global climate change.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology
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Helping the Digital Revolution Reach the Corner Store: Piloting Mobile Solutions for Micro-Retailers
Across the developing world, there are millions of small-scale shopkeepers who want to build their businesses. But with no training in management skills, many often struggle to run their shops. Can digital tools help address this challenge? TechnoServe sought to answer that question by piloting a smartphone platform that worked with shopkeepers in Kenya to improve the operations of their stores. Alice Waweru explores the program’s benefits and limitations.
- Categories
- Technology
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India has a growing impact investing industry, but can it scale?
India’s impact investing market has grown rapidly in the past few years — the total value of impact investments in India since 2010 has been $5.2 billion, according to a McKinsey report — and $4.2 billion of that is since 2015. In that time, average deal sizes have increased — from $7.6 million in 2010 to $17.6 million in 2016, though the number of investments has stayed between 60-80 a year.
- Region
- South Asia
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What Was the Top NextBillion Post of 2018? Vote for Your Favorite
As 2018 comes to a close and we look back at the year's top posts, it's clear that the social sector is developing an increasingly willingness to challenge long-held assumptions – even when this leads to uncomfortable discussions and difficult course corrections. As NextBillion launches our seventh annual "Top Post of the Year" contest, we encourage you to vote for the post that influenced you most in 2018. You can vote up to once every six hours until 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (U.S.) on Jan. 3, and the winners will be announced on Jan. 4. Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!
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- Agriculture, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing, NextBillion Originals, Technology
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From Paper to Digital: A Guide to Transitioning to Mobile Data Collection
Frontline workers play a critical role in gathering information from – and delivering services to – rural communities. For years, these workers used paper forms and guides, leading to delays, problems with accuracy, and trouble measuring program effectiveness. Mobile data collection tools can help address these challenges, but transitioning to a digital system is not as easy as simply digitizing paper forms. Sam Farnham at Dimagi shares insights and a free guide that can clarify the process.
- Categories
- Technology
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Mobile Industry Reports Increasing Impact Across all SDGs
The ‘2018 Mobile Industry Impact Report: Sustainable Development Goals’ from GSMA Intelligence finds that more than two-thirds of the global population are now connected to mobile technology.
- Categories
- Technology
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South Africa to start building affordable smartphones
Developed by Rwandan businessman and billionaire Ashish Thakkar, the Mara group at the Africa Investment Forum announced ambitious plans to develop manufacturing plants in Rwanda and in South Africa.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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