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Why the Future is African – And Why SMEs Should Lead the Way
It’s conventional wisdom that small and medium enterprises are key to economic growth in emerging markets. This is particularly true in Africa, where local SMEs dominate the business landscape, and a fast-growing young population needs the services, jobs and economic growth they provide. But as Trevor Hambayi at Development Finance Associates explains, these enterprises face several unique challenges – starting with a lack of finance. He explores the problem, and some solutions that could help unlock the SME sector’s potential.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Press release: New €200 million impact fund launched to scale agribusiness in developing countries
Small scale farming is one of the biggest industries in the world, with 500 million small farms and 2.5 billion people relying on small scale farming on a daily basis. The demand for impact investing in rural agriculture is growing as investors strive to end poverty and hunger to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The ABC Fund will also focus on creating employment, particularly for young people in Africa, to offer them an alternative to migration.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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China Wants to Boost Loans to Small Businesses. Tech Companies May Be the Answer
China's push to encourage lending to smaller companies has created a business opportunity for large financial technology companies.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Quick Wins for Digital Agriculture: Why Digitizing Aggregation Centers is a Fast Path to Long-Term Impact for Smallholders
Discussion of digital agriculture innovation often focuses on buzzworthy technologies like the internet of things, artificial intelligence and blockchain. But though these technologies will eventually define the future of the sector, Ananth R Gudipati at the World Food Programme and Paul Kweheria at Mercy Corps say we should start with the basics – getting farmer organizations and SMEs to use digital tech to streamline their operations. They share insights from a digital platform developed by the Farm to Market Alliance that’s doing just that.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Press release: IDB Invest provides loan to Mundo Mujer, the largest private microfinance bank in Colombia
The financing allows Banco Mundo Mujer to increase its loan portfolio to support communities with easy and quick access to working capital, strengthening its businesses and productive units.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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PayGo vs. MFIs: What Works Better for Energy Access Consumer Financing – And Does it Have to Be Either/Or?
Many last-mile customers can’t afford clean energy products without financial solutions to help pay for them. Energy enterprises often meet this need in two different ways: by partnering with microfinance institutions (MFIs) to provide loans to customers, or by offering pay-as-you-go (PayGo) financing options. The United Nations Capital Development Fund’s CleanStart program has supported energy providers using both of these models, and Teresa Le, an energy finance consultant at the program, explores their relative merits and challenges.
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The U.S. had a ‘chicken in every pot.’ Pakistan aims for chickens on every plot.
The premise is simple: Provide five hens and one rooster to several million poor families, especially rural women, so they can earn income at home by selling eggs. But Pakistan is also facing dire macroeconomic and fiscal crises, with the rupee plummeting against the dollar and its foreign debt burden soaring out of control.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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Asian Development Bank approves $50 million for microenterprise development in Bangladesh
For the longer term, the project would develop microenterprise finance operational guidelines for microfinance institutions, including piloting for some partner organisations and a mobile-based financing application.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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