Technology Archives

Meet the Winners: The Louis Malassis Scientific Prize for Agriculture and Food Security

Scientists hold some of the answers to so many of today’s agricultural challenges at their fingertips. Support for this community is a vital if we are to deliver the SDGs. The Louis Malassis Prize has been established to recognise some of the brightest scientific minds. Meet the 2017 Prize winners.

Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Climate Justice, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Technology, Water and Sanitation

December 15, 2017

Delivering on the Promise of Inclusive Business

Inclusive business as an idea has pushed the boundaries of what is possible and it offers the potential for scale in a way that philanthropy never could. So why are there so few examples that have truly scaled? What needs to happen to deliver on the promise of inclusive business?

Climate & Environment, Education, Finance and Investment, Food and Nutrition, Gender, Global Goals, Health, Innovative Business Models, Intrapreneurship, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Partnerships, Technology

December 14, 2017

A Paradigm Shift

Reflecting on the past six decades of top-down approaches to poverty, limited by a fixation on aggregate wealth, Fundación Paraguay argue that the “Poverty Stoplight” programme offers a decidedly different strategy. Allowing families to self-diagnose their level of poverty and develop personalized strategies to overcome poverty permanently.

Agriculture, Conflict and Peace, Technology, Water and Sanitation

December 8, 2017

How to Achieve Financial inclusion through Data-free Mobile Banking

The promise of digital technologies can give more people access to financial services, but the ability to scale services and create revenue from these services has proven more elusive. N-Frnds and BTPN Wow, Indonesia, share their experience of helping to bring comprehensive mobile financial services to the mass market.

Finance and Investment, Innovative Business Models, Technology

December 1, 2017

Designing for People, Not Problems, Will Help Us Tackle the Global Sanitation Crisis

This World Toilet Day, Lixil, one of the world’s largest sanitary ware manufacturers share their insights on innovating for those at the base of the pyramid and why they see toilets as the next big business opportunity.

Health, Innovative Business Models, Technology, Water and Sanitation

November 19, 2017

2 Billion People Can’t See Clearly. This Business Sees the Answer.

What if I told you we had a breakthrough solution that could access untapped potential in 2.5 billion people? That it could keep people safer and help children learn better? You might envision a fancy new technology, but this magic bullet is surprisingly simple: a pair of eyeglasses. Just…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Global Goals, Partnerships, Social Enterprises, Technology

November 3, 2017

Power Sector Reforms Spur Private-Sector Participation

Ivy Namasani makes a dress in her tailoring shop in downtown Blantyre, Malawi. Her store suffers from frequent power blackouts that hamper her ability to do business. As part of the Malawi Compact, MCC is supporting the Government of Malawi in its efforts to strengthen the country’s power sector and…

Energy, Finance and Investment, Technology

October 13, 2017

Want to Change the World? Allow the Private Sector to Do What it Does Best

For the past week, the world has watched as heads of state and global business leaders convened in New York City for the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. The agenda was far from light. Topics ranged from food security to climate change to the refugee crisis to healthcare. The task…

Agriculture, Finance and Investment, Global Goals, Health, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Refugees and Migration, Technology

September 28, 2017

Last Mile Financial Inclusion: What Will It Take to Reach More Rural Women?

Digital services – with their geographic reach, ease of use, and transparency – are driving financial inclusion and alleviating poverty. But are rural women being left behind? Financial inclusion is unlocking the potential for micro and small enterprises in poor and rural communities to grow, and reducing gender inequalities. Women with access…

Agriculture, Finance and Investment, Gender, Innovative Business Models, Technology

September 27, 2017

System Leadership in Practice: Technoserve’s East Africa Coffee Initiative

Read enough blogs, and you might think the formula for increasing smallholder farmers’ incomes is well-known: training + access to (inputs x finance x markets). Simple, right?

Agriculture, Governance and Transparency, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Technology

September 26, 2017

From Digital Divide to Inclusion: How to Make Digital Finance Work for India’s Women

Often heralded as a panacea for financial inclusion, digital financial services could exacerbate the gender divide, unless there is a concerted effort to develop women-friendly products and channels. Despite recent successes in India’s financial inclusion journey, Indian women still cannot access bank accounts, loans, and other financial services as easily…

Gender, Global Goals, Technology

September 25, 2017

New Report: Enabling Smallholder Farmers to Improve Their Incomes

Many global companies buy significant amounts of the crops they need from smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our new report aims to clarify the roles and levers for companies and other actors, often working together, to help increase smallholder farmers’ incomes.

Agriculture, Finance and Investment, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Technology

September 18, 2017

Supporting Corporate Social Innovation to Bring Mobile Services to Smallholder Farmers

Q: Tegan, you are the Business Intelligence Manager at the mAgri program at GSMA. What does the mAgri program do? A: We catalyze scalable, commercial mobile services that improve the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers and benefit the agriculture sector in emerging markets. We bring together our members (mobile…

Agriculture, Intrapreneurship, Technology

September 12, 2017

Using Customer Data to Crack the Last-mile Distribution Challenge

You can’t manage what you don’t know. While we’d probably all subscribe to that maxim, it’s one that rings especially true for organizations seeking to serve the more than four billion low-income people living at the base of the pyramid (BoP). BoP markets have long been heralded for their potential…