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Illuminating the developing world’s “invisible” consumers
July 18, 2017 Editor 0
While on location in remote areas of Kenya, researching automation and home manufacturing for his doctoral dissertation, Kenfield Griffith PhD ’12 encountered a significant lack of data. For example, information he needed about whether people had access to indoor plumbing was scarce or nonexistent — and conducting traditional surveys to gather the data would be […]
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Seven things you need to know to turn a start-up into a scale-up
May 31, 2017 Editor 0
Entrepreneurs at mLab East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. Supported by the World Bank Group’s infoDev program, this business incubation center provides support to local start-ups. Photo Credit: © infoDev/World Bank About 12 years ago, one of my World Bank Group colleagues told me that his team had just launched an incubation program and I should join the […]
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Kenyan scientists release five new canning bean varieties after sixty-year wait
May 15, 2017 Editor 0
Speaking to the private sector players in the canning bean sector in Kenya one cannot fail to note their excitement… Phyllis Wanjiku, bean farmer from Bahati, Nakuru, Kenya. Her farm was one of the on field trial sites over the new canning bean varieties that were released in 2015. Beans is the most important source […]
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The secret life of a World Bank actuary
January 25, 2016 Editor 0
As actuaries working in development, my colleagues and I in the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program (DRFIP) are constantly looking for innovative ways to apply actuarial science in the fight against poverty. Because the DRFIP is a fairly new initiative — it was established in 2010 to improve the financial resilience of governments, businesses […]
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SMEs are good business for Kenya’s growing banking sector
November 16, 2015 Editor 0
Maasai women make, sell and display their bead work in Kajiado, Kenya. 2010. Photo: © Georgina Goodwin/World Bank Kenya’s financial sector has expanded rapidly over the last decade and lending to businesses—including small and medium size-enterprises has played a big part. As the Kenyan economy is enjoying a period of relatively high growth, the financial […]
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Using Technology to Advance Human Rights in Kenya
August 31, 2015 Editor 0
Joseph Kitaka, a resident of Yatta in Machakos County, #Kenya, has always had an interest in defending human rights. His community is faced with numerous challenges, including gender-based violence, police brutality and many other human rights violations. Mr. Kitaka had little hope of utilising Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to advance his ambition in bettering […]
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