-
Designing Digital Health Tools for the Last Mile: Lessons for Maximizing Connectivity, Usability and Trust
Digital health has become a promising approach for improving healthcare access in under-resourced communities. But as Kaumudi Tiwari at Zonka Feedback explains, bringing healthcare to the “last mile” isn’t just about overcoming the challenges of physical distance. It’s about navigating poor network coverage, language mismatches, lack of trust in digital systems, and tools that don’t align with local workflows or realities. She shares four critical lessons from digital health deployments in Africa and Asia that underscore why some digital health tools succeed in the last mile, while others stall.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
-
Boehringer Ingelheim Invests in Kasha Global to Expand Women’s Health Access in Africa
Kasha Global operates a distribution model designed to reach underserved populations where 52% of Africans lack access to necessary healthcare.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Connected Power: Ensuring Africa is Not Left in the Dark — or Offline
Sub-Saharan Africa has both the highest energy access and digital connectivity gaps in the world. As Ravi Suchak at Helios Towers explains, this is due not to a lack of demand, but to fundamental infrastructure barriers: Telecom towers and mobile networks require a reliable power supply, which is often absent or prohibitively expensive in rural areas, and electricity providers need consistent demand to de-risk rural energy investments. He explores a solution that addresses both of these needs: "connected power," a development approach that aligns energy and telecom infrastructure by positioning telecom towers as anchor customers for electrification projects.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology, Telecommunications
-
Private Sector Developers Sign Funding Agreement to Fast-Track Rural Electrification in Zambia
This round of funding will stimulate and incentivize end-use demand for energy supplied by 43 existing and new mini-grids across Zambia, bringing reliable and affordable energy to underserved areas.
- Categories
- Energy, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
EU-Funded AgriFI Backs Ghana’s Complete Farmer with $2.5 Million Investment to Empower Smallholder Farmers
This funding, channeled through the EDFI Management Company, aims to bolster the company’s expansion strategy and facilitate the development of agricultural infrastructure in northern Ghana.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Kenyan Startup Solar Panda Acquires Zambian Solar Firm In Expansion Move
"The acquisition adds more than 100,000 customers to Solar Panda’s portfolio and expands its operations beyond Kenya and Senegal."
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Research: Nigerian and Kenyan Farmers Can Be First Step to Making Rural Mini Grids More Profitable and Affordable
"This article draws from research conducted under the ‘Sustainability, Inclusiveness and Governance of Mini grids in Africa’ (SIGMA) project, funded by a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) research grant (ES/T006684/1)."
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Press Release: IFC and Canada Invest in Husk to Catalyze Solar-Powered Economic Growth in Rural Nigeria
The financing will support the rollout of Husk’s portfolio of solar hybrid minigrids in Northern Nigeria, helping address one of the country’s most urgent development challenges.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.