All Private Sector & Development magazine articles
Morocco: medical assistance for micro-business owners
Al Amana is Morocco’s leading microfinance institution, both in terms of customer base and the amount of credit provided. It operates throughout the country, supporting a vulnerable population by offe...
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Kigali amendment: concrete progress on climate change and opportunity for the private sector
Focus on an historic climate agreement that has gone almost unnoticed on the margins of COP22: the amendment adopted in Kigali in October 2016 aims to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs or F-gases). T...
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Experiences in index-based insurance for farmers: lessons learnt from Senegal and Bangladesh
Index insurance is an innovative approach that pays out benefits based on a pre-determined index (e.g. rainfall, seismic activity, livestock mortality rates, etc.) for losses arising from weather and...
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Using insurance to harness savings and boost corporate and capital investment: the example of the CIMA zone
In Africa, insurers are potentially able to channel household savings and make long-term investments in businesses and infrastructure projects, however a number of obstacles continue to hamper their c...
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Micro-health insurance: the user perspective
There are many social and cultural obstacles facing micro-health insurance in developing countries. While disadvantaged communities develop their own solidarity, risk-sharing and planning mechanisms,...
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Africa: on the cusp of an innovation revolution
While emerging economies have been driving global growth over the last ten years, the gap vis-à-vis developed economies is still very substantial. Skill gaps in particular severely constrain economic...
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The insurance sector sets its sights on Africa
Africa is home to 15% of the World’s population but generates barely 1.5% of global insurance premiums. Nevertheless, a number of indicators point to rapid future growth in the sector: the Continent’s...
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Abidjan international airport, a viable concession despite the turmoil
In 1996, management of Abidjan international airport was taken over by a private operator. Although the financial equilibrium of the concession was disrupted by a series of events – not least the 2010...
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Supporting sustainable air transport innovations
Air transport is vital for local and global economic development. It plays a key part in regional integration and generating jobs. In terms of the environment, energy and climate, the sector has set i...
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The aviation sector in Africa - How can it be funded?
Because of the capital-intensive nature of the business, raising adequate finance is one of the major challenges facing Africa’s aviation sector. Local banks frequently lack the necessary resources or...
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Fastjet, a low-cost airline flying high in Africa
The low-cost airline model has experienced rapid growth right across the aviation sector with the notable exception of Africa. With the rise of Africa’s middle classes and the gaps in its road network...
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Education in Africa: international schools are a stepping stone to the best universities
Although student mobility in Africa is high by global standards, African students are under-represented in the best international universities. This raises questions about the standard of education. A...
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Air transport, a sector generating powerful socio-economic benefits
The study demonstrated that liberalisation does not just benefit passengers and cargo shippers. Increased levels of air service stimulate employment in the aviation industry as people are needed to h...
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Open skies - Recommendations for enhanced African air connectivity
Poor connectivity not only results in onerous travel schedules, it also holds economies back by hampering the development of air transport in general. Past initiatives to open up Africa’s skies, such...
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Development of wind and solar power in sub-Saharan Africa: how can the obstacles be removed?
Sub-Saharan Africa possesses considerable solar and wind energy resources and demand for electricity is growing steadily. Despite this favourable scenario however the realisation of projects based on...
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A few lessons from the DFID impact fund experience
While poor people in developing countries are more than willing to pay for basic goods and services, the existing private sector solutions in place so far do not allow them to meet such needs effectiv...
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The point of view of an impact investor - redefining the concepts of risk and retour
The notion of a trade-off between financial, social and environmental returns has dominated the impact investing debateuptonow.
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Improving air transport efficiency in Africa
The opportunities presented by air transport are particularly relevant to Africa, however the sector is hampered by lingering over-dependence on governments, supervisory bodies that are often ineffici...
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Social business: the challenge of scaling up
Entrepreneurship can meet the needs of “base-of-the-pyramid” populations, provided the business in question has reached the critical size needed for profitability and sustainability. Examples of “incl...
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