-
Addressing Eye Care in Emerging Markets with Blended Finance
WHO estimates that 39 million people suffer from blindness, more than half of them due to cataracts, and more than 90 percent of blind people live in the developing world. Cataracts are often curable but the traditional surgery is expensive. Convergence is supporting GlobalVision's plan to build on the affordable eye model that Aravind pioneered in India and establish a network of 60 eye care hospitals in emerging markets over the next 10 years, borrowing techniques from the microfinance sector.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
-
CompareAsiaGroup scores $50M from investors including IFC, Alibaba and Goldman Sachs
CompareAsiaGroup claims that more than 28 million people used its sites last year, making it the largest personal financial management platform in Asia.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech
-
UBS Raises $325 Million for Bono-Backed Impact Investment Fund
The Rise Fund, which counts Irish rock star Bono among its co-founders, aims to achieve "measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns", UBS said in a statement on Monday.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are backing a controversial education program in East Africa
Though it operates with the mission of providing high-quality, low-cost education for all, Bridge has drawn criticism from some education experts and teachers unions for the model it uses to make good on that mission.
-
Kiva Launches A Fund For Refugees And You Can Help
It may not seem so now, but whether people would loan money to a stranger was a pretty big question when Kiva.org started in 2005. One billion dollars later, the answer is a resounding yes.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- microfinance, refugees
-
The Rise of a New Asset Class: Can ‘PAYGo Finance’ Connect Investors to Low-Income Customers?
Lendable has pioneered a marketplace lending platform that connects alternative lenders in East Africa with impact and institutional debt investors, to provide financing for leased assets like solar panels and motorcycles. According to BFA, providing these alternative lenders with structured debt financing could potentially give rise to a new asset class: PAYGo finance. If successful in raising funds from investors at scale, the Lendable approach could bring financing for low-income individuals full circle.
-
Hit or Miss: A Weak Critique of Impact Investing — and a Strong One
We should welcome a robust debate over impact investing that’s not just confined to foundation board rooms; a larger audience needs to hear the different arguments. But as new criticisms start to flow, I’ve noticed that while some raise very good questions, others feel wildly off base.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
-
Base of startup funding pyramid has shrunk sharply in India; angel, seed deals down
The number of angel and seed investments made in the first half of 2017 (January to June) is down to 260, a sharp drop from 419 in the first half of 2016, according to data from startup analytics firm Tracxn.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
The Best of NextBillion in Your Inbox Each Week!
Subscribe to NB Notes for news, jobs & on-the-ground insights from the world of emerging markets business.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.