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Press Release: Networks Partner to Catalyze Impact Investing in Africa
Leading investor networks join forces to connect investors and increase financing of African enterprises that create positive social and environmental impact.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Business Opportunity With Exponential Benefits: Linking Agriculture and Energy to Improve Livelihoods in Africa
Agriculture contributes around 23% of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, and energy access can help drive agricultural development. However, Scarlett Santana at RMI points out that the region has few businesses enabling productive energy uses in agriculture, and the lack of electricity for mechanization is limiting growth in rural communities. She explores the opportunities that exist for agribusinesses that link their investment and other business decisions to energy considerations – and for energy businesses that link their efforts to agriculture.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy
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Asante Closes First Tranche of $7.5 Million Series a Funding to Bridge the Gap in MSMEe Lending in Africa
Asante Financial Services Group announces $7.5 million Series A investment anchored by Goodwell Investments with participation by other investors including Sorenson Impact Foundation and Forsage Holdings.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- financial inclusion, fintech, MSMEs, scale
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How Blockchain Can Support Social Impact: Three Innovative Use Cases that Highlight its Potential
When it comes to blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin seem to dominate the headlines, whereas blockchain itself – cryptocurrencies’ underlying technology – often gets overlooked. But according to Raj Jain at the Social Finance Fund, blockchain may actually have a more compelling future than cryptocurrency – and the technology is flourishing in a variety of different spaces, including the social impact sector. He highlights three organizations that are putting blockchain to innovative use in social impact.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Technology
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Analysis: The Case of the Underperforming Circular Economy
Progress resides through the decidedly less-glamorous earthbound work of business process improvements, negotiations among buyers and sellers, and internal business teams needing to resolve highly complex technical issues. These efforts are essential to building more empowering business cultures through intra-organizational and cross-value-chain networks.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- circular economy, scale
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Charting a Pathway to Scale Through Government: Adapting a Girls’ Empowerment Program to a Public School Setting
BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program supports vulnerable young women through group training focused on education and social/economic empowerment. But despite its longevity and impact, the program has lacked a path to self-sufficiency and scale. Esau Tugume and Jenna Grzeslo at BRAC discuss a solution to this challenge: adapting ELA to an after-school setting in Uganda, allowing it to be scaled through public schools. They explore this model, and share how they've navigated the issues that can arise when leveraging government involvement in pursuit of scale.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
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Asian Development Bank Approves $100 Million Loan for Agribusiness Development in India
Despite ample opportunities for the growth of horticulture, most smallholder farmers still practice subsistence farming because of fragmented land ownership, insufficient capital to scale up, and lack of direct access to emerging high-value markets.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- scale, smallholder farmers
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Press Release: 54gene Closes $25 Million Series B to Advance Global Drug Discovery Capabilities
Cathay Africinvest Innovation leads round as company expands precision medicine capabilities across the African continent.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- scale
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