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Rethinking Farming in Small Island Developing States: Five Major Trends in Jamaican Agriculture That Can Apply to Other Emerging Economies
Though Jamaica is working to diversify production and build self-sufficiency in its agricultural sector, like much of the Caribbean region, it still imports more food and livestock than it exports. But as Varun Baker at Farm Credibly points out, the country is exploring new farming practices and technologies that can boost its agricultural output and sustainability. He shares five key trends in Jamaican agriculture that could provide a model to other emerging economies — particularly Small Island Developing States.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
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Addressing the Credibility Crisis in Carbon Credits: How New Technologies — And New Data — Are Building Trust in Carbon Markets
Are carbon credits a legitimate tool to fight climate change — or are they just greenwashing? Ben Jeffreys at ATEC Global argues that, despite recent research that has called its effectiveness into question, putting a price on carbon is actually one of our most promising ways to accelerate global decarbonization. But as he points out, that doesn’t mean the criticisms of carbon credits aren't valid: He explores the challenges that are impacting carbon credits' credibility, and proposes five recommendations for building a more robust and transparent carbon market.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
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Making a Successful Business Pivot During the Energy Transition: Three Lessons from an Auto Supplier Diversifying into Renewables
As efforts to decarbonize the world’s energy systems accelerate, many industries and companies face both new challenges and tremendous opportunity — and the automotive industry is a highly visible proving ground for this shift. Diana Páez and Dana Gorodetsky at the William Davidson Institute explore how Bosal, a global automotive supplier, is leveraging its expertise with internal combustion engine-related products to expand into the renewable energy market, and share some lessons from its evolution that can be valuable to other companies affected by the energy transition.
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- Energy, Technology, Transportation
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A Blueprint for Productive Use of Clean Energy: An Accelerator in Nigeria Generates Solutions for Linking Mini-Grids to Agricultural Equipment in Rural Communities
There are over 70 mini-grids operating in Nigeria today, and similar businesses are delivering clean energy in other underserved communities around the world. But as Scarlett Santana at RMI explains, serving these markets presents unique challenges, since if customers lack productive uses for the electricity they sell, mini-grids’ revenue model fails. She explores how mini-grids can address this challenge by partnering with agricultural equipment providers, and discusses an accelerator co-led by RMI that is providing the ecosystem to make these partnerships happen.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
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Accelerating Social Unicorns: How an Impact Accelerator is Supporting the Innovators Who are Tackling the World’s Biggest Problems
The holy grail in venture capital is to invest in a “unicorn” — a startup that achieves a valuation of over $1 billion. But as Leslie Labruto at 100x Impact Accelerator explains, this approach overlooks the businesses and organizations that are tackling pressing societal issues at scale. She argues that it’s time to shift the focus to "social unicorns" that aim to make a massive positive social impact, and explores three keys to these enterprises' success.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise
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An Agricultural Value Chain Bears Fruit: How Adopting a New Crop Helped Boost the Prosperity and Climate Resilience of Cambodian Farmers
Improving the performance of agricultural value chains will be crucial to emerging countries' efforts to end poverty and hunger, boost shared prosperity, and adapt to climate change. To that end, an iDE program is supporting Cambodian farmers as they transition to growing melons and other new crops, by helping to build market systems that support the sale of these products. Simon Crittle at iDE explores how the program is enabling farmers to navigate changes in the market — and in the climate.
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- Agriculture, Environment
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Avoiding the Resource Curse: Challenges — And Progress — in Harnessing ‘Green Mineral’ Wealth for the Benefit of Developing Countries
The growth of renewable energy has led to skyrocketing demand for the “green minerals” used in constructing and powering clean energy technologies. But as Leslie Tsai at the Chandler Foundation explains, despite this demand, the countries that are rich in green minerals and other natural resources are often among the poorest in the world — a paradox often called the “resource curse.” She explores how businesses, governments and other key stakeholders can ensure that these countries benefit from their natural resource wealth.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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How Innovation Created an Off-Grid Solar Market in Rural Bangladesh — And What Other Countries Can Learn from this Model
In the early 2000s, a small-scale World Bank pilot project in Bangladesh unexpectedly grew into the largest off-grid solar program in the world. According to Nancy Wimmer at microSOLAR, the program's success provided the rest of the world with a model for how low- and middle-income countries can develop a nationwide, rural market for decentralized solar systems driven by home-grown companies. She explores how other countries can adapt Bangladesh’s market-creating innovations to their own local environments.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
