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Moving Beyond Grants: How NGOs Can Diversify Toward Earned Revenue, and How Funders Can Support That Transition
The development sector has reached an increasingly firm consensus that it needs to depend less on grants as the aid landscape evolves, and strategies to generate earned revenue have emerged as a key solution for NGOs seeking to remain financially sustainable. But as Toon Driesen at the Enabel Innovation Hub and Alex Losneanu and Pritika Kasliwal at Brink explain, commercializing innovative solutions to complex societal issues typically costs money before it makes money, and early funding support often falls away before a business model can scale. They share research that reveals what NGOs must do differently to execute the transition to an earned revenue model, and explore how funders can help them implement these changes.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Mastercard and Flowcart Join Forces to Power Secure Card Payments Into Social Commerce in East Africa
"The initiative will unlock new opportunities for social sellers, creators and SMEs in mobile-first markets by reducing the need for external websites or payment links."
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mars Impact Fund Awards More Than $13 Million in New Grants to Advance Community Resilience, Science Pipelines and Companion Animal Wellbeing
New investments across Côte d’Ivoire, India, the United States and Thailand will expand community health and economic resilience for cocoa-growing and mint-farming families, build pipelines for the next generation of scientists, and drive last-mile rabies elimination.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Investing, WASH
- Region
- Global
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Sun Mobility Launches Battery Swapping Network in Kenya
SUN Mobility's Kenya launch builds on a platform already proven in India, where more than 125,000 vehicles run on over 2,000 stations across 25 cities, supported by more than 30 vehicle manufacturer partners.
- Categories
- Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Canva Africa, Paystack Partner to Equip Nigerian Entrepreneurs With AI-Powered Creative Tools
"Under the Paystack Small Business Bundle, eligible merchants will receive six months of Canva Business at no cost."
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: USAID’s Exit Leaves a Gap in the Drive for Meaningful Connectivity
Sonia Jorge, founder and executive director of the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP), says meaningful connectivity requires affordable access, adequate network quality, a device capable of using relevant services, regular use and the skills to participate safely and productively online. A basic connection may allow a call or a mobile-money transaction, but it may not be enough for telemedicine, education, public information or an online business.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Airtel, Starlink Launch Satellite Service in DRC
Airtel said the DRC deployment could help people and organisations operating in remote areas, including transport and logistics companies, humanitarian agencies, health workers, farmers and mining operations.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Beanstalk AgTech Announces the Launch of Monsoon Ventures to Accelerate Agtech Commercialisation in Southeast Asia
The studio will invest capital, recruit complementary commercial expertise, map value chain pathways, and help ventures attract the right investors or strategic partnerships with regional players.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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