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Black Businesses Matter: Leveling the Playing Field for Black Entrepreneurs in Africa and the Diaspora
For Black lives to matter, it is critical that we discuss more than just survival, but rather how to enable Blacks to thrive, says Charity Kabango at Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners. She argues that entrepreneurship is a key means to that end, as it empowers Black people to create jobs for themselves and others, and facilitates the flow of wealth within communities. However, limited access to finance and the absence of structured support has held back the development of entrepreneurship among Black people globally. She explores some solutions to this ongoing challenge.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Ensuring That Women’s Financial Access Is Not Another Casualty of COVID-19: The Value of Agent Banking
As COVID-19 continues to ravage global economies, the existing gender-poverty gap is set to widen: UN Women projects that for every 100 men aged 25-34 in extreme poverty due to the pandemic, 118 women of the same age will be living in extreme poverty this year. Peris Mburu at FSD Africa explores why agent banking is a promising solution to this growing challenge – and how its benefits can extend beyond access to finance.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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2020 MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTICLE CANDIDATE: Businesses Behaving Badly: The Troubling Parallels Between Microfinance and Facebook
Chuck Waterfield left microfinance five years ago, after working in the sector for three decades. He stopped using Facebook three years ago, after using the platform for about 10 years. As he explains, he left them both for a similar reason: Their business models have grown increasingly problematic over time – and without external intervention, things are likely to get worse.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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2020 MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTICLE CANDIDATE: Fighting Extreme Poverty During COVID-19: Two Proven Ways to Build Resilience in Times of Catastrophic Disruption
COVID-19 has disrupted life for practically everyone around the world, but people living in extreme poverty are particularly affected. And some estimate that the crisis could push over 80 million more people into extreme poverty. Muhammad Musa at BRAC International discusses two programs that could reduce this impact, improving the lives of marginalized communities both during and after the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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UN: COVID-19 to Worsen Poverty in 47 Poorest Nations
The pandemic could push as many as 32 million people in the world's least developed countries into extreme poverty, a new UN report has said. Without international action, global development goals will be missed.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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COVID-19 Has Resulted in Largest Global Economic Contraction in 80 Years, Say World Bank and IMF
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund said the global economic contraction caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is the largest in the last eight decades, raising the world poverty rate, exacerbating inequalities and damaging long-term economic growth prospects.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: Can Economics Trump Politics To Usher in Agricultural Reforms in India?
Indian agriculture has a fundamental problem: around 50 per cent of India’s work force in the agriculture sector contribute only 17 per cent to India’s GDP. This low productivity is the root cause of the low income and economic hardships of farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press Release: New Research Reveals Alarming Drop in Farmer Incomes in Uganda
Heifer International study of over 400 smallholder farmers in Uganda reveals 97% have seen incomes reduced due to COVID-19.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Impact Assessment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa