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July 7, 2022

Applying Behavioral Science to Program Staff: An Under-Explored Path to Strengthening Global Anti-Poverty Programs

Evidence suggests that applying behavioral science to global anti-poverty programs can increase their impact—typically by encouraging positive behaviors among program participants. But Mukta Joshi and Faraz Haqqi at ideas42 point out that the behavior of program staff has not received the same level of attention, even though staff directly shape a program's potential for impact. They explore how behavioral science can be used to optimize the behaviors of anti-poverty program staff, offering a powerful new channel for improving lives and livelihoods.

Sectors:

Uncategorized

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July 5, 2022

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness: What Low- and Middle-Income Countries Can Learn from a Key Business Mistake in the Developed World

Over the centuries, free enterprise has excelled at driving efficiencies and innovations, from the cotton gin to the sewing machine, that have powered societal development. But author and entrepreneur Ed Chambliss argues that, as societies grow more prosperous, an overemphasis on business efficiency – as embodied by the concept of shareholder primacy – is no longer enough. He urges businesses in developed countries to broaden their focus to include all their stakeholders' diverse needs – and encourages businesses in developing countries to adopt this broader definition of sustainable success.

Sectors:

Social Enterprise

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June 29, 2022

Finding Value in Food Losses and Byproducts: Why Circular Agribusiness is Key to Sustainable Food Security in Africa

Food waste and spoilage are major problems in Africa: For example, between 25% and 44% of mangoes are lost across the value chain in Kenya. Brenda Wangari at Village Capital and Patrick Guyer at Bopinc discuss an innovative solution to this challenge: circular agribusinesses that turn food waste and byproducts into affordable, nutritious foods and organic fertilizers. They explain how the O-Farms program, Africa’s first accelerator focusing entirely on circular agribusiness, is supporting these enterprises, and how this approach can help ensure food security on the continent.

Sectors:

Agriculture

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June 27, 2022

The Leapfrog Opportunity in ‘Know Your Customer’ Innovation: Why Africa Needs Local, Digitized KYC Solutions

Know Your Customer (KYC) is a critical process for banks, as it enables them to validate their customers’ identities to fulfill regulatory requirements and protect against fraud. But as Timbo Drayson at OkHi explains, KYC is a big and expensive problem in Africa: For instance, in Nigeria some banks are spending up to $1 million per year to manually verify identities, and 15-30% of customers never complete these processes. He explores three key challenges to KYC in Africa, and presents some tech-driven solutions that could allow the continent to leapfrog to a new global best practice for KYC.

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June 22, 2022

A Roadmap for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Island Nations: Three Success Factors for the Eastern Caribbean’s Transition from Fossil Fuels

The Eastern Caribbean has struggled in recent years, as natural disasters – combined with the COVID-19 pandemic – have caused a precipitous drop in the tourism revenues it depends on. But as Pepukaye Bardouille at the IFC explains, transitioning to renewable energy could help address this challenge, reducing the region’s cost of electricity, supporting its climate resilience, limiting its dependence on imported fossil fuels, and producing jobs outside the tourism sector. She presents three success factors for achieving this transition – insights that could also be applicable to other island nations.

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June 20, 2022

Pushing the Water Boundaries: How Social Impact Incentives Can Make WASH Enterprises More Innovative, Impactful and Catalytic

The water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector is ripe for change, as it is far from being on track to achieve universal access to safe drinking water (SDG 6). According to Shabana Abbas at Aqua for All, and Bjoern Struewer and Patrizia Baffioni at Roots of Impact, impact entrepreneurs can drive the sector forward, but their funders will need to move away from the usual grant models to explore more innovative and sustainable financing approaches. They discuss one such model – Social Impact Incentives – and how it's being applied successfully to support WASH enterprises.

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June 16, 2022

Sustainable Solutions for the World’s Failing Food Systems: Acceso’s CEO Discusses its Innovative Approach

The war in Ukraine has weakened global food systems that were already reeling from the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – not to mention the escalating climate crisis. In this interview, Acceso CEO James Jenkin discusses how his organization is responding to that urgent need by taking an innovative, market-driven, farmer-focused approach to what’s becoming one of the most critical challenges of our time.

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June 14, 2022

Leading the Way to Greater Impact: Why Addressing the Lack of Lead Investors is Key to Building Stronger Startups in Emerging Markets

Raising capital is a critically important function for startups. But as Patricia Chin-Sweeney at Beyond Capital Ventures explains, there is typically a shortage of investors who are willing to lead an investment round – and until a lead is secured, the process of capital raising is in limbo. And unfortunately, many startup founders are unaware of this, wasting precious time speaking to funders who cannot lead the round. She explores the value that a lead investor role can provide to both startups and investors, and discusses the need for more lead investors in Africa and other emerging markets.

Sectors:

Investing

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Guest Articles.

Applying Behavioral Science to Program Staff: An Under-Explored Path to Strengthening Global Anti-Poverty Programs

Finding Value in Food Losses and Byproducts: Why Circular Agribusiness is Key to Sustainable Food Security in Africa

The Leapfrog Opportunity in ‘Know Your Customer’ Innovation: Why Africa Needs Local, Digitized KYC Solutions

A Roadmap for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Island Nations: Three Success Factors for the Eastern Caribbean’s Transition from Fossil Fuels

Leading the Way to Greater Impact: Why Addressing the Lack of Lead Investors is Key to Building Stronger Startups in Emerging Markets

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