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Women Feeding Africa: Innovative Business Solutions to Close the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity
Women quite literally feed sub-Saharan Africa: They make up 50% of its agricultural labor force and contribute 60-80% of its food. Yet they also face unique constraints that limit their productivity and reduce their returns. What would happen if women could access the same productivity resources as men? Agnes Makena and Racheal Wangari at Intellecap explore that question, highlighting enterprises and initiatives with innovative solutions to support Africa’s female farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Entrepreneurship
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BRAC Founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Passes Away
"We will honour his legacy with the same resilience, dignity and humility that he has instilled in us."
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Microfinance Lenders in Sierra Leone Accused of ‘Payday Loan’ Interest Rates
A Guardian investigation into a microfinance programme run by Brac found that the NGO’s staff were failing to fully explain the conditions of the loan to borrowers.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A New Program Aims to End Africa’s Financial Gender Gap
Singer Angélique Kidjo is promoting Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa, a program that seeks to boost financing for female entrepreneurs. “Why do banks give more loans to men versus women? That’s the question I have,” she said.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Inside Tata Power and Rockefeller Foundation’s Plan to Light Up 5 Million Households in India
This is a defining moment for bending the energy access curve. In the words of Amitabh Kant, the CEO of the Indian government’s think tank Niti Ayog, “This partnership is essential for the people of India and its rural communities, giving a thrust to a massive multiplier effect [energy can have] on India’s economy and move social indices forward in some of its most difficult terrains.”
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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Creating Jobs While Fighting Poverty: An Innovative Social Micro-Franchise Model Gains Traction in Haiti
All too many global development efforts fail to appreciate the value of a steady paycheck – or the role of small businesses as job creators in poor communities, says Marc Blumenthal at Social Ventures Foundation (SVF). This has stagnated poverty reduction campaigns, leaving vulnerable populations in need after government and NGO funds dry up. He shares SVF's efforts to reverse this dynamic, through social micro-franchise business models that address poverty-related issues, while also creating sustainable jobs in low-income communities.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Viewpoint: 2019 Nobel* prize reveals the poverty of economics
The three new Laureates deserve the prize in economics in memory of Alfred Nobel. But the award shows how poor the modern economics discipline is in terms of gender equality, research methods, self-examination, and genuine insight into the lives of the poor.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
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In Remembrance of Pro-Poor Business Pioneer Paul Polak: 1933-2019
Paul Polak, a pioneer of pro-poor technologies and social impact-focused business, passed away peacefully over the weekend, surrounded by his family. A true "serial entrepreneur" since long before that term became popular, Polak founded numerous organizations and businesses aimed at alleviating poverty – and he served as a source of wisdom, inspiration and humor for the social business sector for decades. He will be greatly missed.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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