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Financing Women- Owned or -Led SMEs for Sustainable Growth: Navigating Capital Supply Side Challenges in Africa
One in four African women owns or manages a business, and in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the rates of entrepreneurial activity among women rise to 30-50%. But as Nathalie Gogue-Ebo and Katharina Weber at Open Capital point out, just 6% of funding in the region goes to women- owned or -led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs), limiting these businesses' growth potential. They discuss the factors that are preventing investors from supporting WSMEs, and share some potential solutions.
- Categories
- Investing
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Assessing Last-Mile Distributors’ Business Performance and Impact: Using a Diagnostic Tool to Reveal Key Areas of Strength and Improvement
Running a company without business data is like driving a car without a dashboard. But it isn't always easy for an entrepreneur to determine which data is important to track, and how to use it to evaluate their business’ performance. Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath, Alice Magand and Chitraksh Sharma at Hystra share an auto-diagnostic tool they've used in their work with last-mile distributors, which enables companies to identify what's really driving value-creation and impact.
- Categories
- Technology
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Developing Countries Owe China at Least $1.1 Trillion – And the Debts Are Due
China remains the world’s single largest official source of development finance and continues to out-fund any single Group of Seven (G7) developed economy as well as multilateral lenders.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Report: Ultra-Processed Foods Lead To $7 Trillion in Hidden Health, Environment Costs Globally
Low-income countries were the hardest hit by hidden costs of agrifood systems, which represent more than a quarter of their GDP.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- food security, nutrition, research
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Africa’s Fashion Industry Expanding Globally but Requires Increased Investment – UNESCO
The demand for African fashion brands is also spurred by the growth in e-commerce, the UNESCO report noted.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Really Cool Roofs: How Breakthrough Materials Can Save Lives, Carbon, and Money in a Warming World
Without concerted action, 8.3 billion people globally — 74 percent of the projected global population — would be exposed to deadly heat conditions.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Successful Pilot Shows Localised Repair as Viable Solution to 91% Of Non-functioning Solar Lights Across Zambia
In their pilot programme, SolarAid tested decentralised local repair models, which they discovered built trust in the rural communities and further benefited local business and speed of repair.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A New Study Finds Returns on ESG ETFS to Be “Unremarkable”
Only one year, 2020, stood out with ESG ETFs outperforming by 4.2%.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- ESG, impact measurement, research
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