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Productive Use Has Challenges: What’s Holding the Sector Back — And How Companies and Investors Should Respond
Productive use of renewable energy (PURE) technologies such as solar irrigation, cold storage and agro-processing can have a transformative impact in Africa and other emerging markets. But though the potential of these technologies is undeniable, the scale isn’t. As Daniel Waldron, Chris Emmott and Kristi Chon at Acumen, and Duda Slawek at Open Capital explain, few agricultural companies are delivering PURE solutions, and fewer still are growing fast enough to meet the scope of the problems they are trying to solve. They share new research and analysis that illuminate the challenges that are holding the sector back, and propose three ways forward.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
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Rockefeller, World Bank Fund Solar Projects Across Six African Countries to Boost Agriculture
The initiative will support the rollout of solar-powered cold storage facilities, refrigerators, water pumps and grain mills in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: CrossBoundary Access and Anka Close a Landmark Acquisition in Madagascar, Reinforcing Momentum Toward Investment in Mini-Grids for Energy Access Across Sub Saharan Africa
This acquisition marks the first exit of early-stage investors from an operational mini-grid platform in Madagascar, demonstrating the growing bankability of the mini-grid asset class and developers.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Solar Power Could Drive African EV Boom Sooner Than Expected
A new study led by ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), published in Nature Energy, challenges the long-held assumption that combustion engines will dominate the continent until at least the mid-century.
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Global
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Protecting Solar Investments In South Africa Amid Increasing Hailstorms
Solar panels are naturally vulnerable to these impacts. Even if a panel does not visibly break during a hailstorm, microfractures can occur, reducing power output and shortening the lifespan of the system.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Agros Secures USD 2 Million from EDFI ElectriFI to Expand Solar-Powered Irrigation for Farmers in Southeast Asia
The financing will support Agros’ expansion in Indonesia and Cambodia and scale its “Pay-after-Harvest” model, enabling farmers to invest in high-quality solar water pump systems with flexible payment terms.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Cheap Solar Is Transforming Lives and Economies Across Africa
Chinese panels are now so affordable that businesses and families are snapping them up, slashing their bills and challenging utilities.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Announcing NextBillion’s Most Influential Articles of 2025: Vote for Your Favorites by Jan. 4
NextBillion’s “Most Influential Articles of the Year” contest has been an annual tradition since 2012. As we do each December, we’ve highlighted 12 of our most-read articles from the past year: You can find links to them in this article, or on the homepage below. We invite you to read them and vote for the ones that influenced your thinking the most. You can vote up to once per hour between today (Dec. 19) and 11:59 pm EST on Jan. 4. We thank you for your support and engagement over these past 20 years, and we wish you a happy and prosperous 2026.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Finance, Investing, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
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