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How Fintech is Enabling Progress Toward the SDGs — And Why it’s Time for Investors to Double Down
Due to high interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges, there's been a global slowdown in venture capital funding to tech firms. David Grimaud at Bamboo Capital Partners explains how this lack of investment is impacting fintech companies in emerging markets, putting not only financial inclusion but other development priorities at risk. He explores how fintech innovators are advancing multiple SDGs, and how the investment community — especially impact-focused investors — can better support them.
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Agricultural Insurance + Energy Access: An Innovative Pilot Program Reveals the Value of Bundled Services — And the Need for Cross-Sector Partnerships
As the world works to achieve SDG7, it's becoming clear that cross-sector partnerships will be key to meeting its goal of affordable, sustainable energy for all by 2030. Anshul Patel at Bboxx — a leading distributor of pay-as-you-go solar energy products — shares learnings from the company's recent partnership with Pula, an agri-insurance technology firm, which insured Bboxx customers against the climate-related crop failures that can lead to payment defaults and repossession of their energy products.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Technology
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The Overlapping Impacts of Off-Grid Solar: Four Ways Innovative Funding Can Enable the Sector to Advance Global Climate and Poverty Goals
How can the off-grid solar sector achieve its energy access and climate-related goals? Laura Fortes and Drew Corbyn at GOGLA argue that there’s one clear answer to that question: more and better finance. They discuss four ways innovative funding models can enable the sector to rapidly and radically accelerate progress toward universal energy access and other development goals.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
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d.light Harnesses $125 Million to Boost Off-Grid Solar Solutions in Tanzania
d.light champions the mission of providing affordable solar-powered household commodities.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Paygo Solar Startup Yellow Raises $14 Million to Scale in Africa
Following the new funding, Yellow plans to deepen its reach in its current markets Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Madagascar.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Vitalite Zambia Secures $1.5 Million From EDFI ElectriFI to Support Its Growth
Vitalite is a Solar home System distribution company that was created to increase rural electrification.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Energy Company Sun King Acquires PayGo Energy to Enhance its Clean Cooking Solutions
The company will take a technology-agnostic approach to developing products and services.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Can Pay-As-You-Go Help Clean Up Clean Cooking?
Since 2015, the global focus on clean cooking has grown substantially, bringing more funding, research and attention from policymakers to the sector. But according to Tash Perros at the University of Liverpool, Iwona Bisaga at Loughborough University and Julia Tomei at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, progress remains slow, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. They examine some of the reasons behind the inertia that is plaguing clean cooking access, and explore whether pay-as-you-go business models could catalyze progress.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Technology
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