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Startups and Venture Capital vs. COVID-19: How an INR 1 Billion Grant Program Is Boosting India’s Pandemic Response
India is home to many innovative startups that are leveraging technology to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. To support them, a group of prominent venture capital funds and founders recently launched ACT Grants, an INR 1 billion effort to fund scale-ready solutions to COVID-related challenges. NextBillion spoke with Mekin Maheshwari, founder of Udhyam Learning Foundation – a key partner in the initiative – about how it is helping India’s startups ramp up their battle against the virus.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Investing, Technology
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What Startup Funding Will Look Like in a Post-COVID-19 World
A lot of VCs will take this time to do more of a reappraisal of their current portfolios than taking up new deals. However, some startups are still well poised to still garner some support in the funding sphere.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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African Venture Funding Is Expected to Slow but Impact Investors Are Boosting Health and Agri-Tech Startups
Between 2014 and 2019, 44% of venture capital deals recorded in African tech ecosystems included participation from at least one impact investor, data from Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association show.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care, Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa Attracted $3.9 Billion VC Deals in 6 Years
Fintechs, information technology firms, and other companies in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa attracted a total of 613 Venture Capital (VC) deals valued at $3.9 billion, between 2014 and 2019.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Why Venture Capital Doesn’t Build the Things We Really Need
Venture capital has been the engine of US innovation for years. But investors are finding fewer ideas that fit their preferred pattern.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Technology
- Region
- North America
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Social Entrepreneur Building Rural Economy, Urges MFIs to Launch Disaster Fund
Yunus, was speaking on June 6, Saturday, at a webinar organised by Sa-Dhan, the platform for Indian MFIs
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Environment, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Unicorns vs. Camels: Three Lessons for Building Resilient Businesses – Despite the COVID-19 Crisis
As COVID-19 continues to transform the global economy, many businesses are shifting towards safety and longer-term thinking. But as Alex Lazarow at Cathay Innovation points out, many social entrepreneurs have been building sustainability and resilience into their business models from day one. He contrasts the approach of these "camels" to the growth-at-all-costs model common among "unicorns."
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship
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Southeast Asia’s Fintech Startups Face Shakeout From Coronavirus
The coronavirus is unlikely to halt the rapid advance of fintech firms in the emerging landscapes of Southeast Asia. Along the way, however, it is amplifying the gains of some startups while inflicting pain on many others.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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