Blog

Browse recent blogs of interest to the Marketlinks community. Use the search box or the filters on the left-hand side to refine the listing of blogs by keyword, topic, and/or region/country.

The “Domino Effect” of Disbursing a Single Microloan

Society Development Committee, or SDC, based in Faridpur, Bangladesh, is a microfinance partner of the Feed the Future Bangladesh Livestock and Nutrition Activity, funded by USAID and implemented by ACDI/VOCA. Through this partnership, thousands of people working in Bangladesh’s livestock sector have benefited from microfinance products.

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Photo by ACDI/VOCA

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Why Microsavings?

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
Looking outside traditional microcredit methods.

A Ugandan SME Navigates New Waters on Lake Victoria

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
Earthwise Ferries, one of 14 winners of the USAID- and Western Union-funded African Diaspora Marketplace business plan competition, is launching a fleet of "green" ferries on Lake Victoria to facilitate trade and travel.

Cooking Up New Ideas in Uganda with Solar Stoves

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
Visiting an Ugandan village with Ronald Mutebi, a dynamic entrepreneur and co-founder of Sun Tek Consults, one of 14 winners of the USAID- and Western Union-funded African Diaspora Marketplace.

Secretary's Global Diaspora Forum: Partner commitments

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
On May 17, 2011, The U.S. Department of State, The United States Agency for International Development, United States Trade and Development Agency, and Migration Policy Institute convened to launch the International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) at the Secretary's Global Diaspora Forum.

Building the Capacity of Capacity Builders

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
Designed as a structured, iterative coaching program, the Mentoring for Value Chain Impact initiative pairs up seasoned international experts with emerging leaders in field implementation.

Key takeaways on payment systems and behavior change from Jennefer Sebstad, ACDI/VOCA

Author(s):

ACDI VOCA
Jennefer Sebstad provides key takeaways from her presentation at USAID Breakfast Seminar #61, "Behavior Change Perspectives on Gender and Value Chain Development." Jennefer Sebstad, an independent consultant working with ACDI/VOCA, has over 30 years of work experience as a researcher, evaluator, program designer, and donor in the areas of microfinance and enterprise development in developing countries with an emphasis on women, young people, and vulnerable groups.  

Key takeways on behavior change and gender from Cristina Manfre of ACDI/VOCA

Author(s):

ACDI VOCA
Cristina Manfre provides key takeaways from her presentation at USAID Breakfast Seminar #61, "Behavior Change Perspectives on Gender and Value Chain Development." Manfre is a gender and development specialist with extensive experience working in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. She is currently a consultant to Cultural Practice, LLC, and is also involved in a project to apply a behavior change perspective to address gender issues in agricultural value chains for ACDI/VOCA.

Nudging People Towards Desired Behaviors with Choice Architecture

Author(s):

Jennefer Sebstad
In their research on the Ghanaian citrus and the Kenyan sweet potato value chains, Jennefer Sebstad and Cristina Manfre were focused on the barriers and development constraints that especially prevent women from upgrading.

Arab Spring, Start-Up Summer?

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
Written by Holly Pickett for The New York Times. Business groups are taking an interest in Egyptian entrepreneurs like Yasmine el-Mehairy, left, and Zeinab Samir, who started a site for Arab women.