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India Doesn’t Need Borrowed Solutions; It Needs Local Problem-Solvers: Vikas Bali, CEO, Intellecap
Sankalp Bharat seeks to spotlight entrepreneurs from India’s tier II and III cities as the country’s next growth engine, says Vikas Bali.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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NextBillion’s Most Influential Articles of 2025: Announcing the Winners of Our Annual Contest
We've counted the votes in NextBillion’s “Most Influential Articles of the Year” contest, an annual tradition since 2012. The three winners are listed in this article. Congratulations to these guest writers, and to the other contestants in the contest, whose insights have clearly resonated with our readers this past year. And thank you to everyone who voted — and everyone who read and wrote for NextBillion in 2025. Best wishes for the new year!
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology, Telecommunications
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A New Model for Rural Water Infrastructure in Kenya: Why Sustainability Lies Not in Building More, But in Maintaining Better
In Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, water is more than a basic need: It is a lifeline. Yet according to Cecilia Gamba at LeFil Consulting, despite billions in donor investments in water infrastructure over the past two decades, much of rural Kenya remains underserved. As she explains, one reason for this lack of progress is that rural water systems routinely collapse due to a chronic failure to fund and manage operations and maintenance. She shares learnings from a pilot program that tested an innovative market-based approach to managing rural water systems, exploring their implications for other water-focused businesses and initiatives serving rural communities.
- Categories
- WASH
- Tags
- governance, rural development, water
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Launch of the MSME Strategic Plan and MSME Database
The launch underscored the Government’s commitment to placing MSMEs at the centre of Fiji’s economic transformation, supported by strong partnerships and a clear focus on delivery.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Miller Center Capital Funds E-Hands Energy to Expand Rural Solar Access in India
Founded in 2009, E-Hands Energy delivers solar and hybrid systems that replace costly diesel generators and unreliable grid power in underserved regions.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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ADB Approves $400 Million Loan to Upgrade Road Connectivity in Maharashtra, India
The Maharashtra Roads Connectivity for Inclusive Growth Program will improve all-weather road connectivity in 34 districts, particularly in the climate-vulnerable and economically lagging Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.
- Categories
- Investing, Transportation
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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RADIANT YACU of Rwanda Wins European Microfinance Award 2025
"RADIANT YACU’s model bundles affordable hospital cash and funeral cover with microfinance services, leveraging group structures to make enrolment simple and premiums sustainable."
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Vodacom and Starlink Partner to Connect Africa
Vodacom Group and Starlink have partnered to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband Internet to businesses across Africa.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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