-
Agency Banking and Off-Grid Energy: Banking the Unbanked Through Solar
In rural Africa, off-grid renewable energy products are gaining momentum - but their upfront cost can make them inaccessible to low-income customers. Commercial banks have struggled to penetrate these markets, but Thelma Obiakor at the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa explains that this is now changing. Thanks to agency banking, financial services and solar companies are providing a bridge to both energy access and greater financial inclusion.
-
Press Release: COVID-19 Intensifies the Urgency to Expand Sustainable Energy Solutions Worldwide
To meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets by 2030, countries must safeguard the gains already attained and accelerate efforts to achieve affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Viewpoint: COVID-19 Response Must Target African Ag and the Rural Poor
Agriculture contributes to 65 percent of Africa’s employment and 75 percent of its domestic trade. Now the rich potential of agriculture as a tool to promote food security and fight poverty is at risk from the effects of COVID-19.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Fighting a Pandemic in the Dark: How SolarAid is Helping Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa Respond to COVID-19
As COVID-19 starts to spread through sub-Saharan Africa, John Keane and Sofia Ollvid at SolarAid point out that an estimated 600 million people on the continent live without access to electricity at home, and a staggering 75% of health facilities have unreliable power. They explore what solar providers are doing to help African countries respond to the pandemic.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy, Health Care
-
Press Release: Indian Leaders Call for Improvement in Rural Healthcare via Solarization of Clinics
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has highlighted several existing systemic gaps in services, especially to the rural poor. Inadequate healthcare infrastructure is one of them.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy
- Region
- South Asia
-
CTI Africa Chooses Vonage to Power Breakthrough Telehealth Solution in Uganda
With Vonage’s Video API, CTI Africa Limited is bringing advanced telehealth capabilities to the developing world, providing rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa with high quality, affordable medical care and holistic solutions to address economic and social challenges.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
IFAD Makes Landmark Investment in Impact Fund Helping Rural SMEs
In a continuation of its efforts to help small-scale farmers and micro-, small and medium size rural enterprises in developing countries create jobs and increase incomes, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced today an investment of US$9 million (€8.4 million) into the Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund, a blended capital impact fund.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Responding to COVID-19 in the Developing World
The mass social distancing strategy being used to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and Europe doesn’t easily translate to a developing country like Bangladesh, which lacks the capacity to impose restrictions or provide a social safety net for the unemployed. We talked with Yale SOM development economist Mushfiq Mobarak about how he is repurposing his research infrastructure in Bangladesh to gather information and test approaches to spreading public health messages.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Region
- South Asia