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Bringing Cooking Poverty off the SDG Sidelines: A New Study Takes a Fresh Look at the Clean Cooking Challenge
Dirty cooking negatively affects almost four billion people and kills over 4 million each year – more than tuberculosis, malaria and HIV-AIDS combined. As Phil LaRocco at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs argues, the issue is one of the largest unsolved public health and equality crises humanity has ever faced – and failing to address it will put the Sustainable Development Goals out of reach. He explores why previous and ongoing clean cooking efforts have failed, and outlines some potential solutions that could finally turn things around, based on a recent study out of Columbia University.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment
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The Time is Now: How to Build an Inclusive Financial System For All
As global finance leaders gather for this year’s World Bank and IMF meetings, they're meeting against a backdrop of existential crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change and widening inequalities. Dan Barker at Mastercard's Center for Inclusive Growth and Mackenzie Wallace at the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program explore why these crises raise the need – and the opportunity – to build an inclusive financial system for all. They share four principles to guide this process, and discuss the crucial roles policymakers, financial services providers, academia, community groups and NGOs can play.
- Categories
- Finance
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India’s Social Stock Exchange is Coming: Key Considerations to Maximize its Impact
India faces an estimated annual financing gap of US $565 billion in achieving its SDG targets. But while impact investment in the country is growing, it is still nowhere near those levels – and Indian social enterprises face substantial financing gaps of their own. Manali Jain at MSC and Mohit Saini at Tufts University Investment Office explore how a social stock exchange could help address this need, discussing India’s ongoing efforts to establish such an exchange, how it can benefit both social enterprises and impact investors – and how the government can maximize its success.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Made in Africa, Sold Around the World: An African E-Commerce Innovator Connects Women Creators with Global Customers
Sub-Saharan Africa is currently one of the world’s smallest e-commerce regions, but as Moulaye Taboure at Afrikrea points out, it has seen 42% year-on-year growth from 2019-2020, and its leading markets are starting to mature, providing a foundation for continued growth. He explores how several factors are aligning to support the e-commerce industry’s continued momentum in Africa, and discusses Afrikrea's efforts to build a platform that enables local sellers – particularly women – to grow their businesses and sell their products worldwide.
- Categories
- Technology
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Optimizing Results-Based Financing for Off-Grid Energy: Why Localization Can Provide a Pathway to More Effective Investment
Leading investors across the energy access sector have embraced results-based financing (RBF) as a key mechanism to unlock private capital for small-scale solar and mini-grid businesses, and to advance the world toward universal electrification. But according to Audrey Desiderato at SunFunder and Martijn Veen at SNV, the remote design and management of RBF programs increases the risk that these funds will exclude local actors and innovation. They share findings from a recent white paper exploring the need for more localization in results-based financing for off-grid energy.
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Developing Social Entrepreneurs into Sales Leaders: Effective Practices to Adopt – And Common Mistakes to Avoid
Succeeding in social business requires entrepreneurs to exert strong executive leadership in multiple business functions. As Scott A. Roy at Whitten & Roy Partnership argues, one such area is sales, which is often a weak point for social entrepreneurs, even though it's the revenue generator for their companies. He shares some essential sales development practices – and common mistakes – that social entrepreneurs in emerging markets need to understand to optimize their own sales efforts and maximize their business success.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Sustainable Finance, Before and After COVID-19: What the New Focus on Public Sector Investment Means for Blended Finance
Before COVID-19 hit, sustainable finance was on a clear pathway towards success, with private sector capital leading the way. Then the pandemic started, necessitating a massive mobilization of government resources and putting the public sector’s role in the spotlight. Massimiliano Riva at the U.N.'s Joint SDG Fund explores this shift, comparing the pre- and post-COVID prospects for sustainable finance in developing countries, and discussing how blended finance can bring the public and private sectors together to maximize their combined impact.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing
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Finding Opportunity in a Crisis: How Hatch Technologies Started a New Medical Device Venture During a Global Pandemic
In July 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic was spreading aggressively across Africa. That's the same month Hatch Technologies, a nonprofit supporting newborn medical device distribution and services in sub-Saharan Africa, launched its operations. Dick Oranja, Hatch's executive director, discusses the challenges of starting a new venture during one of the most financially and logistically demanding times the world has experienced – and explores why the pandemic proved to be a surprisingly opportune time to launch.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
