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Press Release: “Sunshot Initiative” Launched by Husk Power to Impact 2 Million Nigerians by Scaling Solar Microgrids for Rural Economic Growth
The “Nigeria Sunshot Initiative” will benefit at least 2 million Nigerians with reliable, renewable energy by 2026.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: TaroWorks Offers $20,000 Grant to Help Last Mile Distributors Scale with Mobile Tech
TaroWorks, the offline mobile field service app, is awarding a $20,000 grant to subsidize the digitization of a nonprofit's last mile distribution operations in vulnerable communities.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Resolving the Core Tension of Impact-Focused Fintech: A Viable Model for Reaching Rural Women with Digital Financial Services
Reaching last-mile communities is challenging for a business that also has to attend to its own bottom line. Claudia Sosa Lazo at IDEO.org discusses a partnership between IDEO.org, BRAC, bKash and the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics that is seeking profitable ways to bring digital financial services to rural women in Bangladesh. She explains how the partnership provides a model for other businesses and NGOs that hope to unlock both profit and social impact, while bringing beneficial products to the world’s most excluded communities.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Press Release: In Rural Nigerian Communities, Small Electric Vehicles Powered by Microgrids Cost the Same as Fossil Fuels and Expand Access to Electricity
RMI, Factor[e] Ventures and the UK-charity Shell Foundation show scaling electric mobility with a growing minigrid industry is profitable for both minigrid and electric vehicle operators and improves community access to transportation
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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African Development Bank Approves $180 Million Loans to Extend Electricity Access to Rural Areas in Rwanda
This follows the 26 May 2021 approval for $84.2 million from the resources of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the Bank Group, for the same project.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India’s Blanket Approach to Financial Inclusion Is Leaving Women Behind: Here Are Four Ways to Close the Gender Gap
India's Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana program has been a game-changer for financial inclusion in the country. But according to Akhand Jyoti Tiwari, Sonal Jaitly and Saloni Tandon at MSC, the campaign faces considerable challenges, as evidenced by India's substantial gender gap in account ownership and usage. They argue that the program's blanket approach has contributed to these gaps, by overlooking women’s unique needs while targeting the population at large. They explore four things the country can do to better enhance the financial inclusion of women.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment, Technology
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Analysis: Small Electric Vehicles Can Act as Productive Use of Energy Catalysts for Rural Minigrids
Minigrids can power two and three-wheeled electric vehicles at a matching price with fossil-fuel alternatives.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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On the Edge of Edge: Why Advancements in Edge Computing Could Shift the Paradigm for Remote Connectivity, Internet of Things and Digital Development
Edge computing brings both computation and data storage closer to internet users: It uses servers installed on cell towers to deliver content directly to consumers’ devices, instead of transmitting it from distant hubs across a cellular network. As digital development expert Troy Etulain explains, edge computing offers compelling benefits for remote internet users, and for the development projects and businesses that hope to reach them. He explores the momentum behind this technology – and how it can be leveraged to boost rural internet connectivity and accomplish other goals.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
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