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A Sector in Ruins or ‘Building Back Better’? Findings From e-MFP’s Covid-19 Financial Inclusion Compass
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the global recession it has triggered, the financial inclusion sector is facing perhaps the greatest crisis in its modern history. In response, the European Microfinance Platform repurposed this year's Financial Inclusion Compass survey for this critical moment. Sam Mendelson discusses the results, and what they say about the sector's priorities, challenges and prospects for recovery.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Investing
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What’s Holding Back Off-Grid Solar – And How the Energy Access Sector Can Turn Things Around
Off-grid solar energy has become a $1.75 billion annual market, reaching 420 million users over the past decade – yet the sector is not on track to meet SDG7’s energy access targets by 2030. What's holding it back? Analysts at Sustainable Energy for All, Duke University and Solar Sister explore some key barriers to adoption, and how the off-grid solar ecosystem can address them.
- Categories
- Energy, Impact Assessment
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Microfinance Loans Could Spell Disaster in the Time of Coronavirus
Such loans have undoubtedly helped many people. Yet the capacity of microfinance to "make poverty history" has been repeatedly called into question by researchers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Review of Microfinance Studies Finds Many Flaws, No Conclusions
What do we know about microfinance—often touted as the solution for the economic woes of developing countries? Practically nothing, say researchers from UConn's Department of Agricultural and Resources and Economics.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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Press Release: New Data Portal Showcases Timely Data on Sustainable Development
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launches hub for timely data and GIS learning in partnership with Esri and the National Geographic Society.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Technology
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Report: Preservation Tech is the Key to Driving Higher Margins and Avoiding $1 Trillion in Losses Across the Agrifood Value Chain
A new report by Lux Research, “Preserving the Food Chain,” outlines key protection and preservation technologies to help companies achieve significant reductions in both pre-consumer food loss and post-consumer food waste.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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A Vaccine Is Not the Only Answer to COVID-19: Why Strengthening Statistical and Data Systems Must Be Part of the Solution
The COVID-19 pandemic has been financially devastating, tightening budgets around the world. But Deirdre Appel and Shaida Badiee at Open Data Watch caution governments and development organizations against defunding the systems that provide accurate, real-time data. They explore why strong data systems are essential – not only to fighting the virus, but to responding to future needs and crises.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Impact Assessment
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When Digital Payment Goes Viral: Lessons from COVID-19’s Impact on Mobile Money in Rwanda
Cash can help spread COVID-19, so some African countries have ramped up efforts to expand digital payments to fight the virus. According to Isabelle Carboni and Hennie Bester at Cenfri, this imperative to digitize is one of the key opportunities to emerge from the pandemic. They explore the early experiences of Rwanda, in assessing the impact these efforts can have.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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