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Bringing Agricultural Insurance to Climate-Vulnerable Farmers: A Unique Pilot Program in Nepal Shows How to Unlock the Benefits of Index-Based Insurance for Smallholders
Nepal's topography and climatic conditions make it uniquely prone to natural disasters. As Maria Perdomo at UNCDF explains, these disasters threaten the country's economic development, and smallholder farmers and rural women are disproportionately affected. She discusses a UNCDF pilot program that brought agricultural insurance coverage to Nepali smallholders, and shares learnings from the program that could inform efforts to deliver insurance to farmers in other climate-vulnerable countries in Asia and beyond.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance
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Understanding Deglobalization: What the Backlash to Trade Liberalization Means for Business Growth and Global Inequality
Extensive trade liberalization, often referred to as globalization, was one of the most transformative economic events of the last century — and also one of the most controversial. As political support for protectionist policies grows, Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan at Yale Economic Growth Center and Bomi Okuyiga at Yale's Jackson School of Global Affairs share research insights that help illuminate the impact globalization has had on businesses and workers in low- and middle-income countries, with the goal of understanding how they may be affected by the current backlash.
- Categories
- Technology
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Rockefeller Foundation Boss Favourite to Succeed David Malpass at World Bank
Rajiv Shah has emerged as the favorite to succeed David Malpass as head of the World Bank amid calls for the White House to lose its stranglehold.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Some Things Have to Die for Others to Live: Why Scaling Down is Just as Important as Scaling Up in the Transformation of Global Food Systems
Multiple crises have exposed the fragility and inequity of global food systems. But according to Eva Valencia and Lennart Woltering at CIMMYT and Frédéric Goulet at CIRAD, strategies to transform the world's food systems typically focus on introducing or scaling up new innovations and programs, while failing to scale down the habits, mindsets and institutions that are perpetuating the problem. They explore a key example of this issue — the ongoing use of unsustainable farming practices like tilling — and discuss how farmers can move toward more sustainable "no-till" practices that protect soil health.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Quality Education in Africa: EU Launches €100 Million Regional Teachers’ Initiative
Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen launched a Regional Teachers' Initiative for Africa, a €100 million investment from the EU budget in empowering the world's fastest-growing youth population through quality education.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Foreign Aid Can Innovate Itself Out of Existence: Exploring the Potential of Market-Creating Innovation for Sustainable Development
The foreign aid sector has long been criticized for its inability to generate consistent economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. According to Efosa Ojomo at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a new approach to aid is needed: one that recognizes the power of business innovation to create new markets that advance local prosperity. He discusses a new pan-African initiative based on that approach, which aims to mobilize aid, business and African institutions to build new markets that generate self-sustaining economic growth.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
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Analysis: Why Supporting SMEs Is Critical for Global Trade Stability and a More Inclusive Economy
Extraordinary events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have simultaneously created obstacles and opportunities for small businesses around the world.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- ESG, global development, MSMEs, supply chains
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Press Release: DFC Approves More Than $465 Million of Investments Including in Infrastructure, Health Security, and Small and Medium Sized Businesses in Q1 of FY 2023
Developing countries face an infrastructure gap that is estimated to exceed $40 trillion by 2045.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Investing, Technology, Transportation, WASH
- Region
- Global
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