The internet has enabled mass information sharing and in recent years, education has been taken to the next level thanks to e-learning programs and applications. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, lack of reliable internet access prevents citizens from benefitting from online education. Innovative entrepreneurs, like the founders of our portfolio company, BRCK, are working to solve this problem and deliver global internet access. Below are articles highlighting how achieving global connectivity will contribute to … read more
Solar for Development
Solar energy has experienced major scale globally in recent years. Today, as prices continue to drop and technologies improve, developing countries are beginning to capitalize on its offerings. Startups are popping up all over Sub-saharan Africa and rural India, offering BoP consumers access to clean, sustainable electricity at affordable prices. Below are articles highlighting the opportunities that solar offers to developing countries, and how startups, like our portfolio companies Simpa Networks and SolarNow are experiencing … read more
ICT Developments in Africa
Lack of reliable internet connectivity, local data storage and hosting services negatively impact the productivity of SMEs in Africa. Entrepreneurs have identified the need for affordable, reliable ICT products and services and companies like Angani and BRCK are stepping up to develop and market innovative solutions. Below are recent articles looking at recent developments in ICT across Africa. Kenya’s Angani Formally Launches Cloud Services by Tom Jackson on Disrupt Africa Our portfolio company, Angani, … read more
Mobile Technology Updates
Following last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we’re exploring updates in the mobile technology space and the potential impact on emerging markets. Availability of mobile money: What does the global industry landscape look like in 2014? by Jennifer Frydrych on GSMA At last week’s Mobile World Congress, GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) released its 2014 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Financial Services. Frydrych, researcher and author of the report, discusses … read more
Entrepreneurship in Africa
At Invested Development, we recognize that innovation has the power to make a difference in the lives of people living in poverty. The challenges in the developing world have created a unique opportunity for entrepreneurship and innovation. In Africa, entrepreneurs are proving that they can overcome roadblocks to success and create products that help local communities, and make a profit. Below are articles exploring entrepreneurship in Africa. Think Africa is no threat to Silicon Valley? … read more
Agriculture and Food Security Developments
As the world population increases along with global incomes and standards of living, there will be over 9 million mouths to feed globally by 2050. This is a number we see, talk and read about often. To ensure food security for our future, changes must be made in the agriculture industry. Below are recent articles that innovation, progress in the sector and offer advice for continued development.
To feed the world, food and agriculture industry … read more
Mobile for Development
Mobile money and mobile banking have created a revolution in financial services for the unbanked population, but the potential for mobile technology doesn’t end there. Below are recent articles highlighting how mobile technology can be leveraged to create innovative solutions aimed towards the development of emerging markets.
Mobile for Smart Solutions: How Mobile can Improve Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa by Helene Smertnik on GSMA
A new report released by GSMA explores the opportunity for … read more
Energy solutions beyond the grid
Solving energy poverty is no easy feat, especially when the majority of the people in the world living without electricity live beyond the grid. Innovation is crucial to finding viable solutions to this global issue, but in addition to innovation we must consider solutions that can scale and create a lasting impact.
Get Rid of the Grid? by Pepukaya Bardouille & Dirk Muench on SSIR
According to a 2013 report, companies in the mobile phone … read more
Gender Lens Investing
In the impact space, we frequently consider the social impact of our investments. A tangible way of looking at impact is through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. Many of our peers focus specifically on the gender lens, a social metric in the ESG framework. Check out the following recent articles that discuss the tangible impact of gender lens investing and the admirable work of our peers.
WIN-WIN 2.0: Connecting gender lens investing with clean … read more
Cloud Technology Explanations and Predictions
With cloud technologies becoming more and more popular in both developed and developing markets, it’s important to us at Invested Development to understand both the opportunities and the potential implications that the shift to the cloud will have. Below is a selection of recent articles explaining cloud services and predicting growth and potential change in the market.
How to Make Sense of the Cloud’s Alphabet Soup: What are SaaS, IaaS and PaaS? By Bryan Tamador … read more
Enabling Internet Connectivity in Africa
Access to reliable power and internet connection in Africa is an issue that we are always seeking to solve with investments in new technologies. These new technologies and increased investment in the market are positioning Africa as a leader in growth. The articles below highlight the exciting developments.
Africa marked as fastest growing technology market on IT News Africa
Hemmanth Singh, managing executive of m-Commerce at Vodacom, revealed Africa as the fastest growing technology market … read more
Power Africa Initiative Energy Developments
Momentum gathers in Power Africa initiative on BiztechAfrica
Standard Bank Group has renewed its commitment to the Power Africa Initiative, a multi-stakeholder project driven by US President Barack Obama. The Initiative aims to double power access in Africa by accelerating investments in the sector over the next five years.
The six initial partner countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania. Each have set ambitious goals to boost their power generating capacity to enhance … read more
Cloud Services in Africa
Cloud-based solutions are spreading throughout Africa, boosting the ICT sector and offering opportunities for local business growth. Below are articles highlighting how cloud integration is impacting the continent.
How the Cloud Can Power Entrepreneurship and Urbanisation in Africa by Derek Kudsee on IT Web Africa
Africa has seen incredible economic growth in the past decade. Income has grown by 30% on the continent and six out of the world’s ten fastest growing economies are in … read more
SolarNow’s Solar Systems for Schools – Education, Energy, and the Digital Divide in Africa
Last week, we wrote about the importance of connectivity in education in Africa. In this post, we’ll focus on a solution that our portfolio company SolarNow provides. When it comes to education, electricity is critical for reading lights, internet connectivity, as well as for a wide variety of education technologies that schools can use to improve their outcomes. SolarNow is working to provide these key ingredients for improved education by designing PV solar systems … read more
Mobile Money Updates
The mobile money industry continues to grow in the developing world, offering financial inclusion to the masses that were previously without access to financial services. Below are a few recent articles highlighting exciting developments in the industry.
Mobile Money Continues to Penetrate Africa by Emmanuel Iruobe on Ventures Africa
According to an industry report by the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA), the mobile money industry is continuing to expand across more regions in Africa. … read more
Clean energy developments
1.3 billion individuals across the globe, almost 20% of the world’s population, lack access to basic electricity mostly in emerging markets. If all of the energy currently generated in Africa were equally distributed, it would be enough to turn on one standard light bulb per person for a mere three hours per day. The following articles detail some new initiatives that are aiming to combat this pressing worldwide issue.
Importance of Precision Agriculture
In the next forty years, we will need to produce more food than we have over the entire course of human history. On a planet with diminishing resources that is subject to environmental stress, advancements in agricultural technology offer the best solution to the issue of feeding an increasing population in a sustainable manner. The following articles detail a few advancements relating to this goal.
VilCap Kenya: Serving Farmers 2014
Our partner, Village Capital, … read more
Beyond the Grid at Invested Development
On Tuesday, the Obama Administration announced Beyond the Grid: a framework within the Power Africa initiative created to catalyze private investment in distributed energy solutions for the 240 million people living without household electricity in six targeted Sub-Saharan African nations. We are proud to be one of the 27 founding partners who have committed to investment of over $1 billion over the next five years.
Beyond the Grid has set a lofty goal that … read more
Solar Energy Developments
Over 1.4 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity, and most of them live in developing countries. Solar energy represents a great opportunity to combat energy poverty by providing clean, affordable energy to all. The following articles detail recent developments, goals, and new technologies in solar energy.
Will SunFunder Unlock $1 Billion in Off-Grid Solar Venture Debt? by Justin Guay on The Energy Collective
One of the big success factors for … read more
Agriculture Investments in Africa
Given our interest in agriculture, it is great to hear about governmental, institutional, and private efforts towards efficient and sustainable food production. Below are a few articles that detail this progress, with a focus on Africa.
Denmark to invest in African agriculture by Christian Wenande on The Copenhagen Post
Denmark’s trade and development minister recently announced earlier that the department is launching an agriculture investment fund targeting developing nations. The fund will be dedicated to … read more
Off-Grid Energy Gaining Momentum
Here at ID, we are always excited to learn about innovative developments in the energy sector, specifically in off-grid technologies. In emerging markets especially, there is a real need for efficient, alternative energy products. The following articles detail recent some developments that will help to address this issue.
Calling all energy grid startups for this Hawaiian accelerator’s next program by Katie Fehrenbacher on GigaOm
Hawaii’s Energy Excelerator announced that it will soon be opening applications … read more
Food Adequacy Infographic
Momentum in the Solar Energy Sector
Solar energy is one of the biggest potential sources for decentralized energy. Check out news from the last few weeks on the latest news in the solar industry.
Nebo Suggests Adoption Of Solar Energy By Africa on Leadership Newspaper
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, recently suggested that African countries should embrace solar energy as a major form of power generation for the continent. He cited the expansive solar resources that Africa holds and … read more
Internet Access in the Developing World
With our interest in technology in emerging markets, we are always interested in new ideas to increase Internet access. Check out some of these innovative approaches to increasing the efficiency and scope of Internet access in the developing world.
The Small Brick-Shaped Device Can Help Get Millions of Africans Online by Adele Peters on Fast.Co Exist
Even in large cities in Africa, Internet access is difficult to find and often unreliable. However, the BRCK can … read more
Technological Advancements in Agriculture
The food and agriculture industry, from big to small, from the US to Africa, will undergo a new wave of technology adoption in the next 5-10 years. The core theme driving this adoption is the need for food security and food safety.
“Agricultural Technologies Could Increase Global Crop Yields as Much as 67 Percent and Cut Food Prices Nearly in Half by 2050” by International Food Policy Research Institute
The world’s population is … read more