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Weekly Roundup: OPIC’s Big Jump with LeapFrog; the Dearth of Do-gooder Drones
With a $200 million planned investment by the U.S. government’s development finance arm, impact equity firm LeapFrog Investments has now attracted $1 billion in funds to invest in companies reaching low-income people with financial and healthcare services. This week, the board of directors for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved the investment, as well as eight others. LeapFrog’s announcement hailed the OPIC investment as “the largest commitment in history to any impact fund manager.” That’s not something I could independently confirm, but it is OPIC’s largest single commitment to a private equity manager.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Google’s Flagship Project Loon Impresses PM Modi
Impressed by Google's flagship Project Loon - that takes internet to the remote and inaccessible areas - Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes this has multiple uses like long distance education, rural schools and telemedicine, officials said.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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African Development Bank Seeks to Spur $55 Billion for Energy
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, who took over this month, said he’s aiming to eliminate Africa’s energy deficit by 2025 by mobilizing $55 billion of investment.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Green Energy for the Poor
An innovative business model combining solar power and cellphones is electrifying parts of rural Africa that are far from the grid.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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West Africa Off-Grid Solar Venture Gets $3.4 Million Investment Boost
Ghana-based pay-as-you-go solar firm PEG has raised GHS13.2 million (US$3.4 million) to expand its presence in the West African country.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Rural Healthcare Is in Shambles
The revelation that about 68 per cent of posts of specialist doctors at the government’s community health centres (CHC) in rural areas are lying vacant does not create any surprise. This is according to the latest statistics put out by the Union health ministry. The inability of the CHCs to attract and retain specialists has been known for a long time. Never have these centres of rural healthcare had sufficient number of medical personnel with specialised expertise.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Iluméxico to Bring Solar Energy to 300,000 in Mexico’s Off-Grid Communities
Iluméxico, the Mexican social enterprise focused on solar power, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to bring its Solar Home Systems to 50,000 off-the-grid rural homes – approximately 300,000 people – by 2020. This commitment includes the creation of 180 new jobs, of which 90 will be designated for women and 70 will be based in rural communities.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Latin America
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Bangladesh Backs Mobile Phones to Move Cash Among Rural Poor
Bangladesh, home to the world’s second-largest mobile money company, is moving to consolidate the industry as it expands financial services to the rural poor.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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