Blog

Feed the Future conducted a rapid market assessment of its roughly 150 partner agri-businesses and farmers to better understand the impact of the current crisis and the future outlook for the agriculture sector. 

The shared-value approach makes a strong case for private-sector engagement in the international development arena.

This blog post discusses the importance of implementing best food safety practices along supply chains, especially among small and growing businesses.

This post analyzes the economic implications on food security caused by COVID-19 in relation to previous Ebola outbreaks.

CGAP CEO Greta Bull and Timothy Ogden highlight how the millions who rely on inclusive finance to borrow, save and spend money are counting on the microfinance sector.

USAID’s Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning Senior Economist Peter Richards reflects on the potential impact of a global recession and drop in commodity prices on economic growth in the global south.

Blended finance has demonstrated the ability to mobilize additional financing for gender-focused projects and companies that advantage women and narrow the gender gap, with a quarter of all blended transactions demonstrating alignment with SDG 5 (Gender Equality) to date.

Access to finance is a major pain point in market systems development, but how can we go beyond traditional financing methods to better reach agricultural businesses?

This post highlights how officials are stimulating economic reform in Jordan by improving the legal rights of borrowers and lenders, implementing digital financial services and access to credit.

The case of Lebanon mirrors what in the MERS handbook is referred to as a crisis stuck in the relief phase. In crisis environments, short term goals focus on stabilizing households and providing basic needs.

This post shares thoughts from Dr. Michael Kremer on an experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Dr. Kremer directs USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures program and is a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

How PNG delivers power to its populace is important to the nation. The Development Strategic Plan calls for carbon neutrality by 2050.

The vast majority of food grown in Africa is by smallholder farmers. Implementing these four recommendations will speed up the process of putting improved seed in the hands of Africa’s food growers permanently.

A constraint to raising agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of commercial availability of high-quality seed of improved modern crop varieties. Stakeholders have made a great effort to develop regional variety catalogs to increase the supply of high-quality seed.

Nine projects are funded by NWO-WOTRO to strengthen the Netherlands-CGIAR research partnership on generating insights that contribute to improving seed systems in focus regions within Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa.

CIAT supports the development of seed systems uniting actors along the value chain to create sustainable seed systems and spur links with formal seed producers.

Feed the Future, a USAID program that invests in private-sector partnerships to commercialize agricultural innovations in smallholder markets, conducted a study in 2016 that distilled lessons learned on commercializing seed in smallholder markets in sub-Saharan Africa

At the 2019 SEEP Annual Conference, five finalists delivered seven-minute pitches sharing new approaches to solve a problem and build resilience. The audience voted and selected one winner. Find out which project was selected to win a hypothetical million dollars.

Nearly 75% of the Guatemalan population is employed through small- and medium enterprises, yet local laws restrict credit unions' abilities to provide loans to SMEs.

Using a decentralized water treatment and distribution system, Jim Chu, the founder and CEO of dloHaiti, is bringing safe, affordable water to thousands on the island. Chu recently participated in diaspora engagement roadshows hosted by USAID INVEST, which encouraged members of the Haitian diaspora to invest in the country’s private sector. Jim Chu loves flying. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor began paragliding in 1993. Over the last two decades, he’s participated in the sport all around the world.

USAID/Mozambique engaged in programming, assessing, and leading critical climate change technical assistance activities that support low-emission development strategies (LEDS), building climate change resilience, and strengthening local capacity.

Power Africa teamed up with USAID INVEST to increase access to solar home systems and mini-grids across Kenya. Through Azuri Technology's pay-as-you-go-model, they are projected to provide 390,000 new connections and 6,000 upgraded connections across the country.

The ILO Toolkit is a practical resource for organisations and projects to support small and medium enterprises (SME) decide what aspects of SME performance (productivity, working conditions, etc.) to measure, as well as how to measure them.

A partnership with USAID, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, and the Visa Foundation aims to address barriers that women entrepreneurs face by building supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging markets.

KATA Solar is one of a dozen Ghanaian companies offering rooftop solar. Sales of solar products in West Africa’s off-grid energy access market jumped by nearly one-third in the first half of 2017.