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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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In Ghana, six young women are each sitting in front of a computer screen, and a male instructor is helping one of the girls navigate the computer.

Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: Four Approaches to Bringing Women Online From the USAID/Microsoft Airband Initiative

Author(s):

Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub
Globally, women are 18 percent less likely than men to own a smartphone. This statistic illustrates— particularly in low-income, rural households— the ‘gender digital divide’ where women are less likely to be connected to the Internet and have access to important tools that could improve their lives.

Four Pillars for Sustainable Change in Cocoa Growing Supply Chains

Author(s):

Beja Turner
CARE and MARS’s Women for Change program works with women and their families in cocoa-growing communities to improve livelihoods so communities can thrive. The program started in Côte d’Ivoire in 2016, founded on CARE’s Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) approach. Between 2016 and 2022, more than 77,000 VSLA members (58,000 women) were supported through CARE’s partnership with Mars.

Hurdles in the Last Mile

Author(s):

Daniel White
Dan White of ACDI/VOCA shares some learnings on last-mile delivery and overcoming barriers to distribution.

Key Takeaways on the Cultural Underpinnings of Emerging Payment Systems Uptake from Maria Stephens and Vivian Dzokoto

Author(s):

Marketlinks Team
Maria Stephens of USAID and Dr. Vivian Dzokoto of Virginia Commonwealth University share their key takeaways from the EPS Seminar #6, "Barriers to Mobile Money Transfer Uptake in Ghana." In this video, the two presenters discuss the cultural underpinnings of emerging payment systems uptake and considerations for public-private partnerships in the development of financial services.