-
Replacing Old Technologies or Creating New Markets?: The Pros and Cons of Two Paths to Impact for Productive Use of Energy
Productive use of energy (PUE) technologies have the potential to unlock higher incomes and reduce reliance on more costly, non-renewable energy sources in rural and low-income communities. Dan Waldron, Chris Emmott, Yash Vardhan Gaddhyan and Ruth Wairimu at Acumen discuss the advantages and disadvantages of two different paths to impact for PUE: replacing inefficient, fossil fuel-based incumbent technologies, vs. disrupting entire markets with innovative PUE approaches.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology, Transportation
-
Kredete Raises $2.25 Million to Help African Immigrants Build Credit Score and Make Low-Cost Remittances
Kredete leverages blockchain technology to enable African immigrants to build credit and send money home with low fees, offering a dual benefit that addresses significant financial integration challenges for immigrants.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Egypt-Born FlapKap Raises $34 Million Pre-Series A to Scale SME Financing Across MENA
FlapKap aims to continue to address a major challenge in the MENA region, where the SME financing gap is estimated at $180 billion, per the International Finance Corporation.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
South Africa Fintech Startup Omnisient Raises $7.5 Million Series A Funding for Global Expansion
South African “privacy-by-design” startup Omnisient has raised US$7.5 million in Series A funding to support its expansion across Africa and beyond.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Solarise Africa Secures R160 Million Investment From Mergence Investment Managers To Expand Renewable Energy Solutions In South Africa
This partnership marks a significant milestone for Solarise Africa in its mission to foster sustainable energy development in the region.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
HR Startup WorkPay Secures $5 Million Series A Funding to Scale Across Africa
The HR startup provides a comprehensive cloud-based solution for managing human resources and payroll, targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Africa.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- business development, innovation, MSMEs, scale, startups
-
Accelerating the Adoption of Inclusive Business Models in Multinational Corporations: Challenges, Solutions and Success Stories
Over two decades ago, C.K. Prahalad and Stuart L. Hart challenged the private sector to tap into “the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid” by developing business models that serve people living in poverty. As Annabel Beales at Business Fights Poverty explains, this vision has gained traction under the mantle of inclusive business — yet adoption of these business models remains low among large corporations. She explores why accelerating this adoption is crucial to eliminating poverty and addressing the other SDGs, and shares three key lessons that show how inclusive business can be operationalized by large corporations.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
-
Agrizy Raises USD $9.8 Million Series a From Accion & Omnivore
Agrizy is India’s fastest-growing B2B agri-processing platform, driving supply chain efficiency and SME profitability.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- business development, MSMEs, scale
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.