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October 10, 2022

To Stop Climate Catastrophe, Invest in Clean Cooking: Exploring the Lack of Funding – And Signs of Progress – In the Industry

As devastating heat waves and wildfires become an unwelcome part of summer around the world, it's clear that climate change is no longer a future risk we need to prepare for, but an ongoing crisis we need to navigate. To tackle this challenge, Dymphna van der Lans at the Clean Cooking Alliance argues that the world needs to phase out inefficient, greenhouse gas-emitting cooking methods like wood- and charcoal-burning fires – but for that to happen, funders will need to step up. She explores the lack of funding that has typically plagued the clean cooking sector, and discusses some promising signs of growing momentum.

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September 28, 2022

The Untapped Opportunity in African Healthcare: How to Establish a Stronger Private Sector by Giving Doctors a Voice

Africa has around 16% of the world’s population but accounts for around 23% of the global disease burden – and according to Mark Wien at PocketPatientMD, the private sector should be well-placed to address the continent's growing healthcare challenges. But across the region, for-profit providers are dealing with several obstacles that are hindering their growth. He explores the key challenges these providers – and the broader private healthcare sector – are facing, and discusses how businesses like PocketPatientMD are working to overcome them.

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Health Care

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September 26, 2022

Social Enterprises Can Grow Their Revenue and Impact by Partnering with Corporations – Here’s How to Support Them

Against the backdrop of cascading global crises, a growing number of corporations are looking to social enterprises to advance their environmental, social and governance goals. To capitalize on this opportunity to scale social enterprises' revenue and impact, Alexandra Nemeth at MovingWorlds argues that support organizations like impact investors and accelerators should prioritize corporate readiness. She explores five key trends that are driving the momentum behind corporate partnerships with social enterprises, and five ways to build these enterprises' capacity for successful partnerships.

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September 23, 2022

Cashing In on Sustainability: A Blended Finance Program Aims to Fight Climate Change by Catalyzing SME Investment in the Peruvian Amazon

Peru has lost an average of 100,000 hectares of rainforest per year since 2006, as illicit, extractive businesses are pushing the Amazon ecosystem closer to total collapse. But as Luis Garate at USAID CATALYZE Peru and Rocio Perez Torres at Palladium point out, without access to financing, the sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could take the place of illegal, extractive businesses are often left out of market growth. They discuss how CATALYZE is partnering with private sector financial service providers and investors to mobilize capital for sustainable SMEs in this vital region.

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September 21, 2022

Bringing Digital Innovation to the Global Art Market: An Innovative Platform Connects International Buyers to Emerging Markets Artists

Business models across all industries are rapidly embracing digital technology. But as Srikaran Masabathula at TapArt explains, the global art market remains stuck in its centuries-old, brick-and-mortar sales and distribution model – a model that perpetuates the age-old inequities in the art world, preventing talented artists from emerging economies from selling their artwork to global art buyers. He explores how TapArt is leveraging digital innovation to address these critical shortcomings and create a vibrant connection between art lovers and artists worldwide.

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September 19, 2022

From One Crisis to Another: Using Data from COVID to Meet the Looming Challenge of Food Insecurity

Due to a tragic combination of events, countries around the world are facing a widespread and serious food shortage, with the number of severely hungry people projected to swell to 323 million over the course of 2022. Scott Graham, Andree Simon and Anahit Tevosyan at FINCA share data – initially gathered to inform FINCA's COVID-19 response – that shows the impact of this crisis on low-income customers. They explore how financial inclusion organizations can adapt their support to help customers stave off the worst effects of the escalating food crisis.

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September 16, 2022

Putting Outcomes Above Ideology: Why the Development Sector Must Recognize the Critical Role of Low-Fee Private Schools in Addressing the Global Learning Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the global learning crisis, with up to 70% of children in low- and middle-income countries unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10. Yet Corina Gardner and Stephen Caleb Opuni at the IDP Foundation argue that, despite the urgency of the situation, the development sector remains locked in an ideological debate over whether non-state schools should play a role in the global education landscape. They urge the sector to move past its resistance to private education options and instead work to ensure that these schools are properly regulated, integrated and supported.

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September 14, 2022

Bringing a Gender Lens to Technical Assistance: New Research Reveals the Benefits and Costs of Gender-Smart TA to SMEs and Investors

There’s growing momentum behind gender lens strategies in impact investing. But according to Yaquta Kanchwala Fatehi at the William Davidson Institute and Lisa Willems and Ladé Araba at the AlphaMundi Foundation, investors tend to apply a gender lens to their investing and pipeline development activities – but not to technical assistance and other types of post-investment support. They share findings from a recent study from the Gender-Smart Enterprise Assistance Research Coalition (G-SEARCh) consortium, which explores the business case for gender-smart technical assistance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

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Guest Articles.

To Stop Climate Catastrophe, Invest in Clean Cooking: Exploring the Lack of Funding – And Signs of Progress – In the Industry

The Untapped Opportunity in African Healthcare: How to Establish a Stronger Private Sector by Giving Doctors a Voice

Cashing In on Sustainability: A Blended Finance Program Aims to Fight Climate Change by Catalyzing SME Investment in the Peruvian Amazon

Bringing Digital Innovation to the Global Art Market: An Innovative Platform Connects International Buyers to Emerging Markets Artists

From One Crisis to Another: Using Data from COVID to Meet the Looming Challenge of Food Insecurity

Putting Outcomes Above Ideology: Why the Development Sector Must Recognize the Critical Role of Low-Fee Private Schools in Addressing the Global Learning Crisis

Bringing a Gender Lens to Technical Assistance: New Research Reveals the Benefits and Costs of Gender-Smart TA to SMEs and Investors

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