NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Virtual City gets Sh135m loan from US social fund

Virtual City, a local software development firm, has received a Sh135 million ($1.5 million) convertible loan from Acumen Fund for the development of a mobile-based agricultural application to help small-scale farmers market their produce.The investment represents the latest capital inflows from international investors in the local information technology sector, which is emerging as a key target for venture capitalist firms.

Source

Business Daily (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture, Technology

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Board Approves Equity Investment of U.S. $100 Million in Agvance Africa

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) approved on 16 May in Tunis, an equity investment of USD 100 million to Agvance Africa, the first agribusiness-focused Fund of Funds on the African continent. The strategic objective of Agvance Africa is to increase private investment flows into the agribusiness sector on the continent to address growing food security concerns and unleash the largely unexploited potential of African agriculture and agribusiness sectors.

Source

All Africa (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tags

impact investing

Escaping poverty on the back of a chicken

In the dusty Nigerian village of Nwangele, a 13-year-old girl, Eziuche Chimdi, has escaped a life of oppression. She has only one tool - a chicken.Her life could easily have been very different. Poverty and traditional values dictate the lives of many young girls who will be forced to become child brides. 40 per cent of girls in Nigeria are married by the age of 15, and marriage puts an end to education. Once wedded, she will be subject to a life of servitude as the second or third wife to a man more than twice her age. Disobedience results in violence and young girls are sexually vulnerable and susceptible to HIV/AIDS - the biggest killer of women in Nigeria.

Source

The Guardian (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Should Fighting Hunger Be a Franchise Business?

The idea of a business franchise is more likely to conjure an image of a Happy Meal than a famine food ration, but what if the same system that makes McDonald’s globally omnipresent could do the same for food aid or poverty-fighting?

Source

GOOD (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Can Funding Entrepreneurs in the Developing World Create 1 Million Jobs?

Big Idea: The Adventure Project is an alternative funding organization that supports entrepreneurs in developing countries, with the goal to produce one million jobs within the next ten years.

Source

Mashable (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

‘Explore cocoa potential,’ ICCO urges manufacturers

The International Cocoa Coordination Organisation (ICCO), on Wednesday, urged Nigerian manufacturers to explore the potential of cocoa, so as to produce more cocoa-based goods.

Source

Daily Times (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Agriculture

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

FXB International Releases Graduate Tracer Study

(New York, NY) – Today FXB International released a Graduate Tracer Study. Among the exciting results include findings that, from their starting point as the poorest households in their communities, FXB-Village participants in Rwanda and Uganda show greatly increased income and savings. Additionally, the study shows that FXB-Village participants have vastly improved access to clean drinking water and are more likely to own their homes, and children are much more likely to be enrolled in school than they were at the beginning of the program. In each of the three study areas, the results show that the FXB-Village program significantly improves the lives of these participants.

Source

FXB (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Impact Assessment

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Scaling up the fight against poverty and hunger in Africa

Agriculture is a powerful tool for reducing poverty and hunger. Events of recent years – such as food price increases, droughts, growing climate change impacts and other emergencies – have put agriculture high on the international agenda.We should be clear that agriculture is the solution. Economic growth generated by agriculture is more than twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Agricultural development is also an effective means of assisting developing countries in building capacity and infrastructure as well as introducing innovation and technology.

Categories

Agriculture

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa