-
Comparing Business Models for Scaling Access to Productive Use of Energy Appliances in Agriculture: The Advantages of Pay-Per-Use
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) appliances — including solar refrigerators, water pumps and more — can boost productivity, income and quality of life in vulnerable communities. But as Ankur Singh, Argha Ghose and Clementine Chambon at Oorja explain, challenges like high upfront costs, lack of financing and poor after-sales service hinder their adoption among these consumers. They explore several business and end-user financing models that can support PUE uptake in agriculture, and explain why the pay-per-use model is uniquely suitable for low-income consumers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Technology
-
Rwanda Gets €100 Million from European Investment Bank For Sustainable Agriculture
This initiative aims to transform rural Rwandan agriculture by making credit more accessible to agritech startups and agribusinesses.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Taking Stock of India’s Fintech Landscape: A Venture Capital Firm Shares Six Insights from One of the World’s Most Vibrant Investment Markets
The global team at Quona Capital — a venture capital firm focused on inclusive fintech — recently concluded a visit to India, during which they immersed themselves in the local fintech ecosystem. Michel Zaidler at Quona shares six insights they gathered from several of their Indian portfolio companies, and from these companies' customers and other fintech thought leaders. He highlights some of the groundbreaking business models these fintechs are using, and explains why the Indian market offers unique opportunities to investors.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Investing, Technology
-
Analysis: Tackling Africa’s Most Neglected Infrastructure Problem
Scaling-up irrigation is vital to enable farmers to increase output and improve resilience.
- Categories
- Agriculture, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- infrastructure, MSMEs, scale, smallholder farmers, water
-
Under-Leveraged Best Practices for Scaling Productive Use of Energy Appliances: Part 1 — Sales Support and Market Access
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) appliances can increase revenue for low-income populations, mitigate climate change and improve global energy access. But according to Thomas Charoy and Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath at Hystra, uptake of PUE appliances remains slow, due in part to the training, market linkages and after-sales support needed for customers to get the full benefit from these complex products. They explore some common challenges and best practices in selling PUE solutions, focusing on the appliances with the most mature and promising markets: solar water pumps and solar refrigerators.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology
-
UAE Commits $50 Million to Development Initiative
The funding will be used by LLF 2.0 to support critical projects in health and infectious diseases, agriculture, and social infrastructure in low and lower-middle income IsDB member countries.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Global
-
Press Release: British International Investment and Citi Launch $100 Million Risk-Sharing Facility to Support Trade Finance in Frontier and Emerging African Economies
The funding helps to accelerate the flow of key agricultural commodities, and use of machinery and solutions that strengthen food security in vulnerable economies.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
The Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism Receives $7.3 Million to Boost Agricultural Productivity and Smallholder Farmers’ Income
The funding targets food production and income growth for 800,000 smallholder farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa