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Nine Business Models for Productive Use of Electricity in Africa: A Framework for Generating Profit and Impact in Off-Grid Energy
Improving energy access in rural Africa is crucial for poverty reduction, but grid electricity is often inaccessible or unaffordable — and off-grid alternatives present similar challenges. Olowo Aminu, Bodunde Akinola, Nneka Chime and Mosorire Aiyeyemi at CrossBoundary argue that Productive Use of Electricity (PUE) has the potential to solve these issues, boosting household income and economic growth, while increasing profitability for energy providers. They share a framework CrossBoundary has developed to help off-grid companies and other stakeholders plan for effective PUE implementation.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology
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From Proxy IDs to Autonomous Payments: Why the Future of Financial Services is Hyper-Efficiency
Despite the rise of digital banking and other technological advancements, financial services are still plagued by significant inefficiencies. Author and serial entrepreneur Arunjay Katakam explores the causes and consequences of these inefficiencies — including their impact on lower-income customers — and discusses some emerging innovations that are addressing them. He explains why the sector's growing efforts to streamline back-end processes, reduce transaction costs and enhance operational efficiency will be pivotal in shaping the future of financial services.
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- Finance, Technology
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Private Sector Engagement: The Missing Ingredient in Pandemic and Epidemic Preparedness and Response Plans
At the World Health Assembly's annual meeting in May, delegates will discuss and agree upon a plan to respond to future pandemics. In advance of this crucial meeting, Frida Njogu-Ndongwe and Emily Coppel at IDinsight argue that COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks have highlighted a clear need for the private sector to help finance and implement emergency response plans for future epidemics and pandemics. They explain how engaging the private sector in these plans can enable timely, broad-reaching action that could prevent — or minimize the impact of — future outbreaks.
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- Health Care, Investing
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How Can the Financial Inclusion Sector Serve the World’s Growing Number of Refugees and Forcibly Displaced People?
There were over 108 million people worldwide estimated to be forcibly displaced as of 2022. Sam Mendelson, Fernando Naranjo Galindo and Daniel Rozas at e-MFP argue that the financial inclusion sector can and should play an important role in addressing the challenges of forced displacement. They explore how financial service providers and other stakeholders can better serve these communities, and announce the launch of the European Microfinance Award 2024, which will focus on “Advancing Financial Inclusion for Refugees & Forcibly Displaced People.”
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- Finance
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Energy Poverty is Not Gender Blind: How Companies, Funders and Policymakers Can Empower Female Energy Consumers Across Africa
While both men and women in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity and clean energy technologies, women pay a bigger price for this lack of access in nearly every imaginable way. Mutale Ngaba, Katie Brauer, Nathalie Gogue-Ebo and Duda Slawek at Open Capital argue that this crucial aspect of the energy access conversation is often overlooked. They explore the gender inequities in energy poverty, and share learnings from Open Capital's work that can guide the efforts of energy companies, funders and policymakers to put women’s needs at the center of energy access efforts in the region.
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- Energy, Environment, Technology
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Leveraging Market Systems Development for Women’s Economic Empowerment: Four Tools for Designing Programs That Promote a Gender-Inclusive Economy
Market Systems Development (MSD) interventions are a promising way to boost women's economic independence in emerging markets. But as Sarah Bove, Teresa Oliveira and Julieta Ocampo at TechnoServe explain, since most MSD programs haven’t specifically targeted women, there's little evidence on how this approach can address their exclusion from key sectors. They offer insights from TechnoServe's Women in Business MSD initiative in Mozambique, sharing a set of tools that can be used by other MSD programs to maximize women’s economic empowerment.
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- Social Enterprise
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Aligning Empowerment with Profitability: Three Business Practices That Support Both Women and the Bottom Line
Women are more career-focused than ever, but their representation in global business leadership is not keeping pace. Verónica Lawson Vilches at The Word on Record argues that empowering women in the workplace shouldn’t be viewed merely as a social goal. She highlights three business practices at Girl Power Talk, an India-based social enterprise that provides women and other young people with job skills and work opportunities, to show how efforts to boost women's empowerment can also give businesses a competitive edge.
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- Education, Social Enterprise
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Making ICT4D Green: Three Focus Areas for Improving the Environmental Impact of the Information and Communication Technology for Development Sector
The global digital transformation is generating many positive impacts, and digital technologies have become essential tools for climate and environmental action. But according to Nora Lindström at Catholic Relief Services, the growing use of digital technology is also causing some significant environmental challenges — and the “Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D)” sector must address them. She discusses several ways to increase the tech industry's sustainability, focusing on three key elements of ICT: generative AI, broadband access and electronic equipment.
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- Energy, Environment, Technology, Telecommunications, WASH