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Faster Energy Access Requires Better Data: This ‘Smart Platform’ Aims to Provide It
Despite the Sustainable Development Goals’ ambitious call for universal energy access by 2030, over 2 billion people still lack reliable electricity. Distributed renewable energy technologies could bridge this gap, but most countries suffering from energy poverty have yet to truly embrace them. One solution, say Rebekah Shirley and Monkgogi Otlhogile at Power for All, is for this fast-evolving sector to have more comprehensive and current data. To that end, the organization has built a free, open-access platform that helps users draw meaningful insights about energy access from the latest data. They discuss the platform and its benefits in this post.
- Categories
- Energy
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Viewpoint: Should Paraguay invest its energy wealth in bitcoin ‘mining’ or fighting poverty?
The Itaipú dam is already enriching some, and they believe the country should invest more in cryptocurrency, while others argue it should spread Itaipú’s bounty more widely.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Bill Gates, on China trip, lauds free trade – and futuristic toilets
U.S. billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates unveiled on Tuesday in Beijing a futuristic toilet that doesn’t need water or sewers and uses chemicals to turn human waste into fertilizer.
- Categories
- WASH
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- global development, SDGs
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A Recipe for Change: Can Blended Finance Help Trigger an ‘Impact Revolution’?
There’s a lot of uncertainty about how to mobilize the massive amounts of private capital necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. One promising possibility, says Christina Moehrle at Roots of Impact, is to explore innovative, “fusion food”-style approaches like blended finance – a growing market with over $100 billion mobilized to date. She explores blended finance’s potential to empower small businesses to reach impact at scale – along with the challenges of aligning both public and private stakeholders around impact.
- Categories
- Investing
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Reality Check: Is China burdening Africa with debt?
The Chinese government is adamant that its economic relationships with African countries are mutually beneficial and rejects suggestions that it is using debt to expand global influence.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Closing the Cash Gap With Cryptocurrency
In emerging markets, the shallow reach of traditional money systems means there’s less resistance to new financial technology.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press release: New UNCDF report examines how to get blended finance right in the world’s 47 least developed countries
Presenting the report, UNCDF’s Executive Secretary Judith Karl said: “While turning the ‘billions into trillions’ is essential, it should not just be about quantity, but also about quality and geography. Increased public and private financial flows must be made to work also for the world’s most vulnerable countries and for communities at risk of being left behind. We need to shift the dynamics of how resources are allocated and to come up with better ways of making finance work for poor people.”
- Categories
- Investing
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Chopping Block to Starting Block: How OPIC (Now IDFC) is Writing the Next Chapter in U.S. Development Finance
The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) just survived a near death experience. The agency was among the proposed cuts when the Trump administration came into power and began budget negotiations. But with the passage of the BUILD Act, OPIC will transform into the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, with a new budget and a new set of financial tools. We caught up with David Bohigian, Executive Vice President of OPIC, at SOCAP18 to find out what these changes mean for entrepreneurs and others seeking development finance.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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