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COVID-19: Burden or Boon for Financial Inclusion?
When the Alliance for Financial Inclusion outlined its “Five Key Financial Inclusion Policy Trends for 2020” on January 17 of this year, the spread of the novel coronavirus was still in its infancy. Now that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy, Robin Newnham at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion revisits those trends, viewing them through the prism of the pandemic – and finding both new risks, and new opportunities.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Here’s How Governments Can Help Mobile Phones Become a Humanitarian Lifeline
As the COVID-19 pandemic strikes poor and vulnerable people all over the world, mobile phones have become a lifeline for many.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
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VCs Get Behind Disaster Tech in Search for Innovative Life-Saving Technologies
Creating profitable growth and social impact through partnerships - here’s how VCs are supporting Disaster Tech
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Technology
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Unity During the Pandemic: How the Social Enterprise Community is Coming Together to Survive COVID-19
The economic fallout from COVID-19 could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people. And as Pamela Roussos at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship points out, the pandemic is also delivering a heavy blow to the social enterprises that fight poverty around the world. She explores some new and innovative ways these enterprises, and the broader sector, are responding to the crisis.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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Press Release: Bangladesh-Based Clean Energy Firm SOLshare Successfully Closes US$1.1M Financing Round With Support From IIX Impact Partners
IIX Impact Partners – the world’s most successful debt and equity crowdfunding platform for impact investing – has supported Bangladesh-based off-grid solar energy firm SOLshare in closing a US$1.1 million financing round. Investors include innogy New Ventures LLC – the venture capital investment arm of the German utility firm innogy SE— the investment arm of Portuguese utility firm EDP Ventures, as well as new angel investors from around the world. Funding will be used to bring smart solar microgrids to off-grid, underserved communities in Bangladesh, putting SOLshare on track to positively impact 2.5 million people by 2023.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Championing Refugees Financial Inclusion in Rwanda
The UNHCR Rwanda counts around 150,000 refugees hosted by Rwanda in camps. The Mahama camp which is the largest in the country is home to over 61,000 refugees from Burundi. For many Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs), a stay in refuge could last longer than 15 years. Yet, despite a steadfast and significant participation in the socio-economic activities of their host communities through education, small scale businesses, and casual labours, access to formal financial services for refugees in Rwanda was almost inexistent until recently.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: DFC Announces New “IQ” Development Impact Measurement Tool
“IQ is a state-of-the-art tool that allows DFC to measure our progress in fulfilling our development mandate,” said DFC Chief Executive Officer Adam Boehler. "I am extremely proud of the DFC team for its hard work in developing IQ. I also want to thank the many stakeholders that provided input along the way. I look forward to working with our stakeholders to continue refining and improving IQ.”
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- Impact Assessment
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Viewpoint: The Day After COVID-19 and Saving Emerging Markets
The world is facing a simultaneous health and economic crisis that has spared no one. There won’t be winners in this pandemic and the related halt in economic activity, but some countries will suffer more than others. Emerging markets will lose more than the rest.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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