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Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up: Bhutan and Fiji’s Contrasting Paths to Digital Transformation Reveal the Pros and Cons of Government and Market-Driven Approaches
The pursuit of digital competitiveness — the capacity and readiness to adopt digital technologies — has led to remarkable success stories in emerging markets, transforming public infrastructure and enhancing the delivery of social and financial services. But as Neeraj Lekhwar and Garima Singh at FinValue Advisors explain, this path remains challenging for many nations — particularly small countries. They share insights from a FinValue study involving Bhutan and Fiji: two countries with comparable sizes and socioeconomic structures that have approached their digital transformation very differently. The policy paths they've taken present contrasting examples of digital adoption strategies that provide valuable lessons for other small markets.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Report: Global Climate Fund Assets Hit Record $644 Billion in First Half of 2025
The total of global assets in open-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with a climate-related focus reached a record $644bn in June of this year, marking a 8.5% increase since the end of 2024.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Global
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Analysis: The World Bank Group Reorganization: A Retreat from Research Quality?
"In the new model, it appears that the short-term concerns of the World Bank Group’s dealmakers are likely to gain greater influence over analytical and research output, a step back from a “knowledge bank” and towards the model of economist as salesperson all too common at investment banks."
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Global
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Right Decision, Wrong Reasons: The Way Forward from the Attack on Global Aid
The global aid system is fracturing, with profound implications for the roughly 4 billion people who live on less than $7 a day — and especially for the 120+ million who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. But as Simon Marot Touloung, Elana Banin and Jakob Øster argue, while recent attacks on the system may be overly simplistic, they point to a real issue: Humanitarian aid had failed to evolve, and it is structurally incapable of catalyzing the long-term economic transformation displaced communities need. They explore some market-based alternatives to traditional aid, and propose five principles to guide the transition from the failing aid model toward new approaches that can actually deliver resilience and dignity.
- Categories
- Investing
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Africa is Done Waiting: 10 Key Takeaways from Africa HealthTech Summit 2025
NextBillion was a media partner at last week's Africa HealthTech Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, which focused on the theme: “Connected Care: Scaling Innovation Towards Universal Health Coverage.” NextBillion managing editor James Militzer shares 10 takeaways from the event — and four video interviews with key thought leaders — covering topics that range from the role of the private sector in driving healthtech innovation, to the problem of "pilotitis" and the need for a new narrative around African development.
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- Health Care
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A $3.7 Million Initiative aims to Advance Evidence-Informed Deployment of AI Solutions for Social Good in Africa
It will bring together AI solution developers, policymakers, civil society and social science researchers to fund research to generate evidence on the social benefits and harms of AI solutions in Africa and Asia.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Global
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How India’s Non-Bank Financial Companies are Closing the MSME Credit Gap — And What Other Emerging Markets Can Learn from Their Success
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up around 90% of businesses and employ over half of the workforce globally, while generating up to 40% of GDP and creating 70% of formal jobs in emerging markets. Yet according to Sameer Nanda at Ugro Capital Limited, these businesses face an ongoing credit gap that, in India alone, amounts to an estimated ₹80 trillion. He explains how non-bank financial companies are addressing this gap by offering dynamic and flexible lending services designed for MSMEs — and shares useful lessons from their approach that can be applied in other emerging economies with similar credit challenges.
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A Field-Based Perspective on Sub-Saharan Africa’s Agriculture Crisis: Exploring the Four Critical Dimensions that are Driving Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is no longer just a humanitarian concern in sub-Saharan Africa: It is a business issue. According to Asamoah Oppong Zadok, a researcher and entrepreneur specializing in sustainable agriculture, it constitutes a fundamental business risk with far-reaching implications for the region's economic growth, supply chain stability and geopolitical resilience. He explores the multifaceted structural factors that are driving Africa's agriculture and food security crisis, exploring how business innovators, funders and policymakers can respond.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
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