-
Too Risky for the Crowd? Assessing the Potential of Crowdfunding for Energy Access
Crowdfunding raised $77 million for energy access between 2015 and the end of June 2019 – and the industry is on pace to generate over $200 million in crowdsourced financing by 2020. But despite this growth, Davinia Cogan at Energy 4 Impact points out that crowdfunding remains on the periphery of discussions about energy access finance. With the sector's estimated $33 billion in commercial capital needs, she explores whether – and how – the crowd can be part of the financing mix.
- Tags
- crowdfunding, energy access, SDGs
-
A Spectrum of Solutions: How Impact Investors Are Funding the SDGs
Toniic recently released a report showing how impact investors are aligning their work with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Kristin Siegel, director of Toniic's 100% Network, discusses the findings – which include data from 76 Toniic member portfolios totaling $2.8 billion in committed capital. She points out that the data show how impact investors are "going beyond current media darlings" to include a variety of SDG-related focuses in their portfolios.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing, SDGs
-
From Early Adopters to Tech Laggards: Understanding Off-Grid Energy Customers
The team at 60 Decibels recently set out to understand the motivations of customers served by off-grid energy firms in Africa. Researchers quizzed customers in Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia about their attitudes and behaviours toward new products to find out who were the early innovators, early adopters or tech laggards. Kat Harrison and Hassan Nasser of 60 Decibels explain the research and how firms can convert ambivalent customers into product ambassadors.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Impact Assessment, Technology
-
Financial Inclusion Week: Reflection and Action from Three Leading Voices
Today, the Center for Financial Inclusion is wrapping up Financial Inclusion Week. The intention for the week was to ask some soul-searching questions about what it means to be inclusive – and about how financial access in the age of fintech can impact the lives of millions, for good or ill. We caught up with three leading voices in the field, asking each of them three key questions focused on what financial inclusion means to them from a personal, organizational and international standpoint.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment, Investing, Technology
-
On the Ground at SOCAP19: Live Interviews and Insights from the Social Impact Sector’s Flagship Event
NextBillion’s editors are on the ground at SOCAP19, live-tweeting from panels, conducting live interviews, and providing coverage of key conversations and innovators. We’ll be updating this blog regularly from Wednesday to Friday. Also, we’ll be broadcasting live Q&As with thought leaders in social impact from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm PST on Wednesday, and 2:00 – 3:00 pm PST on Thursday. You can view them live at NextBillion’s Facebook page, and we’ll embed the videos here after they’re over.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
-
A New How-To Guide Chronicles Food and Water Innovators
It's challenging enough to start a business in mature markets, but just try running one in a rural community in a developing country with poor roads and customers who can't pay you. “Innovator Guidebook: Navigating Business Models for the Base of the Pyramid in Water and Energy for Food," highlights lessons from innovators funded by the five-year Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge. The online resource was unveiled today at SOCAP.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education, Energy, Technology
-
Announcing the New(ish) NextBillion: How – and Why – We’ve Updated the Site
NextBillion is announcing several small but important changes to our site's design and content, aimed at making the platform more intuitive for readers to navigate – and easier for guest writers, potential partners and others to utilize. We explain the changes, and the reasoning behind them, in this article.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
Inclusive Fintech in Practice: Chipper Cash Illustrates Three Keys to Tackling Cross-Border Payments in Africa
Though the mobile money revolution has reshaped East Africa, only around 8% of the region's residents actively send or receive payments across borders. Akansha Kasera at BFA’s Catalyst Fund discusses how Chipper Cash is addressing the need for cross-border transactions through a simple, affordable payments platform. She breaks down what's driving the platform's rapid growth – and what other providers can learn from it.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
