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Social enterprise Pollinate Energy has provided 20,000 urban poor families with affordable, green energy
In 2012, six young Australians — Jamie Chivers, Monique Alfris, Ben Merven, Katerina Kimmorley, Emma Colenbrander, and Alexie Seller — came together to see if they could find a way for children living in a slum in North Bengaluru, to have light to study.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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Everyone’s a winner? How ‘impact investing’ can make money – and do good
Previously the domain of corporations and the wealthy, impact investing is now available to anyone with small amounts of cash to spare - with investments in community cinemas, affordable housing or low cost gyms - from as little as $70.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Businesses in boxes: how solar is creating African entrepreneurs
Access to power is a major issue in Africa, and in solar, many people feel they have the solution.
Yet solar is doing more than switching on off-grid populations, and providing a potentially lucrative and investor friendly business opportunities to companies like M-KOPA Solar and BBOXX.- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Rethinking Food Security By Re-inventing the Cold Storage Chain
In developing countries, 40 percent of food losses occur after harvest and early on in the supply chain, leading to more than 250 million tons of food waste annually — mostly because of inadequate refrigeration and unreliable and expensive energy supply. Paula Rodriguez at InspiraFarms discusses the problem – and the company's innovative solution.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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The Danger of Subsidized Solar: How Government and Donors Unwittingly Hobbled Our Business
After entering Myanmar as the country's first pay-as-you go solar power provider in 2015, Brighterlite recently ceased operations there, losing the nearly US $2 million invested in the startup. Jørund Buen, co-founder of the firm that owns Brighterlite, explains what went wrong – and the role that government and donors played in the failure.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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There is Such a Thing as Too Much, Too Fast: Avoiding ‘Mismatched Expectations’ in Off-Grid Energy Investing
A recent post by impact investing firm Ceniarth on the "Energy Access Hype Cycle" has generated considerable discussion, prompting critical responses from fellow impact investors Persistent Energy Capital and the off-grid lighting trade organization GOGLA. With this post, writers at the IFC join the discussion, analyzing the effect of rapid growth rates, high levels of consumer financing and operational efficiency on the liquidity of solar home system providers.
- Categories
- Energy, Investing, Technology
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Press release: IEEE Awards $1.2 Million for Off-Grid Energy Entrepreneurs
IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization advancing technology for humanity, announced that IEEE Smart Village (ISV) has granted $1.2 million in new funds for selected sustainable energy projects with a potential life-changing impact on up to seven million people around the world.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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USADF, All On partner to invest in off-grid energy in Nigeria
UNited States African Development Foundation (USADF) and All On have announced a three-year partnership that will see both parties provide a $3million-fund to expand access to energy for underserved and unserved markets in Nigeria and boost operations of Nigerian owned off-grid energy companies.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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