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Ghana Launches Groundbreaking National Business Agenda to Empower Youth and Women Entrepreneurs
"The initiative, unveiled at a high-level event in Accra, represents a rare collaboration between government agencies, business associations, civil society, and international development partners."
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Ghana’s Wahu Mobility Seals Landmark Carbon Credit Deal with Switzerland
"The deal could accelerate Africa’s role in the global carbon market while enabling cleaner transport solutions for thousands of local delivery riders."
- Categories
- Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Report: Beyond Financial Inclusion: What Drives Financial Health for Women Entrepreneurs?
CARE’s new Strive Women report finds digital divide, financial stress and household responsibilities limit business success in emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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The Quiet Revival of Microfinance: Why The Sector is Poised for Greater Growth and Impact in 2025 and Beyond
After starting in the 1970s, the microfinance industry had become a global sensation by the early 2000s, only to see its momentum wane over the subsequent decade due to concerns about high interest rates and poor borrower outcomes. But according to Kris Coppock at Five Talents, a number of data points reveal that microfinance has quietly turned a corner in recent years. He explores how the sector is emerging from the malaise that defined the past decade, driven by a lending approach that treats access to capital as just one part of a wider toolkit for building resilience, opportunity and dignity.
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Comparing Four Last-Mile Distribution Models: Best Practices and Common Pitfalls in Reaching Rural Customers
Last-mile distributors have found innovative ways to affordably reach consumers living in underserved and/or hard-to-reach areas. As Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath, Jeanne Charbit and Joana Furquim at Hystra explain, these companies use many different last-mile distribution models, tailored to different goods and locations. They discuss the revenue and impact potential of four common models, assessing when they are most relevant, exploring their limitations and optimal conditions for success, and highlighting the key challenges and questions they face moving forward.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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New Fund Sabou Capital to Invest up to $1.5 Million in 25 African SMEs
The fund expects a modest 2-3x return on investment—closer to the 3- 5x range typical of private equity—compared to the high-risk 10x expectations of venture capital.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Fueling Change: The Multiple Impacts of Increasing Liquefied Petroleum Gas Usage in Rural India
To address the negative impacts of cooking with biomass fuel, the Indian government launched a program in 2018 that offers free access to a clean gas cookstove and a refillable cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). But as Shobhit Mishra and Vaishaly Shrimall at MSC explain, the program faced logistical challenges that limited uptake among rural households. They explore the barriers that hinder the adoption of gas cooking in rural India, and discuss the impact of an MSC program that leverages self-help groups to boost LPG uptake while creating entrepreneurship opportunities for local women.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Finance
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Women in Business Held Back by Mobile Data’s Cost in Developing World – Report
Nearly half of female entrepreneurs surveyed by Cherie Blair Foundation for Women do not have regular internet access.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Global
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