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Making Mini-Grids Work for Everyone: A Tariff Harmonization Pilot in Sierra Leone Reveals the Benefits and Challenges of Lowering Prices
Solar mini-grids offer a promising solution to energy poverty in Africa. But according to Tombo Banda and Lisa Kahuthu at CrossBoundary and Miriam Atuya, this approach has yet to gain sufficient traction, due in part to the challenge of balancing operational sustainability with affordability. If customer tariffs are set too low, operators lack revenue — but if prices are set too high, mini-grid electricity isn’t accessible enough to drive widespread adoption. They share the results of a pilot program in Sierra Leone that tested the impact of lower prices on mini-grid operators and their customers, highlighting the implications for future efforts to implement tariff reduction at scale.
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Viewpoint: Smart Gamble or Foolish Risk? The Case for and Against Nuclear in Africa
Nuclear energy is low carbon, high intensity and consistent, but also expensive, hazardous, and perhaps simply unnecessary.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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U.S. Department of the Treasury Releases Inaugural National Strategy for Financial Inclusion
This Strategy is intended to promote an inclusive financial system that works to reduce rather than increase disparities.
- Region
- North America
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Rwanda to Halt Registration of Petrol Motor-Cycles in 2025
The Ministry of Infrastructure confirmed this policy as part of its push for cleaner, greener transportation options.
- Categories
- Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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An Emerging Priority in Climate Resilience: How Zambia’s Green Growth Strategy — And its Business Sector — Are Addressing the Risk of Climate-Induced Social Instability
Zambia — like other countries across Southern Africa — is confronting its worst drought in four decades, one of multiple climate-related crises it faces. According to Gracsious Maviza and Giulia Caroli at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and Ibukun Taiwo at CGIAR, these issues are putting a growing strain on the nation’s social fabric. They explore how Zambia's National Green Growth Strategy is addressing these challenges, highlighting four "Climate Security Pathways" in the strategy that can improve social stability — and generate immense opportunities for the private sector.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, WASH
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“It’s the Wild West”: Zombie Mines Multiply in South Africa’s Opaque Coal Sector
African Arguments visited ten “active” coal mines around Ermelo in South Africa. Three were abandoned, and had been for years according to locals.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Navigating a Silent Crisis: Understanding the Impact of E-Waste on Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Unorganised e-waste recycling units like Seelampur serve as the primary backbone of many low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Technology, WASH
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Regulatory Roadblocks are Holding Blended Finance Back: Here are Three Concrete Ways to Address Them
After hitting a 10-year low in 2022, blended finance flows bounced back to a five-year high of $15 billion in 2023. But despite this renewed momentum, Andrew Apampa at Convergence points out that blended finance faces a number of challenges that hinder its ability to scale — including the complex web of policies and regulations that deter highly regulated financial institutions from investing in emerging markets. He discusses these obstacles and presents some promising solutions, as outlined in Convergence’s State of Blended Finance 2024 report.
- Categories
- Investing