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Reducing cement's CO2 footprint

The manufacturing process for Portland cement causes high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. However, environmental impacts can be reduced by using more energy-efficient kilns and replacing fossil en...

Africa: on the way to CSR

Nowadays the concept of CSR is becoming increasingly widespread and is endorsed by a growing number of economic actors. Yet awareness levels in sub-Saharan Africa remain low, and few businesses implem...

Good corporate governance practices: constantly developing

Corporate governance appeared in the 1970s and has become a core component of the functioning of the private sector. It is both a process and a conceptual and organizational framework and is based on...

Good links to the hinterland: the key to efficient overland transport

Good links between ports and their hinterland is one of the key catalysts driving growth and opening up different regions of Africa. Rail and roads – with all their respective advantages – compete to...

Under what conditions do labels support development? The example of coffee

The coffee sector, a source of income for 25 million producers around the world, is faced with social and environmental challenges which have led to it being a focus of attention for certifications an...

Technical assistance: the outlook for a strategic tool for development finance

Technical assistance (TA) is the non-commercial support provided by a DFI to develop capacity and effectiveness. It complements funding to maximise development impact, contributing to achieving the Un...

Non-Revenue Water is water wasted - is resource wasted

About a third of the world’s drinking water supplied to water utilities is lost before it reaches any users. This loss, referred to as Non-Revenue Water (NRW), is the most crucial metric in the manage...

Private Sector Opportunities in Developing Country Healthcare

Healthcare demand in Africa cannot be fully met by the public sector. Substantial investment will be needed to meet the growing demand – largely from low and middle-income households, which comprise 7...

Improving energy efficiency and minimising the effects of climate change in the hospitality sector

Hospitality is one of the most energy-intensive sectors in real estate. In many markets in Africa, energy represents a significant burden on profitability, yet the sector has never fully embraced ener...

An example of commitment to good governance: DFIs and corporate governance support

With the collaboration of the CGDF Working Group: Marta Viegas-Rocha (IDB Invest), President; Sanaa Abouzaïd (SFI); Elisabeth Alpe (ADB); Vassilis Christakis (BSTDB); Andres Oneto (CAF); Shirley Payet...

SME Finance as seen by regulators : Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa

Access to finance for African SMEs is a key challenge. Through this article, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) aims to share the experiences and practices of member countries that have implem...

Housing public-private partnerships in Latin America: lessons from Mexico and elsewhere

Helping the pharmaceutical industry meet health challenges in Africa

With 13% of the world’s population and 24% of the global burden of disease – but 6% of health expenditure and only 3% of the world’s pharmaceutical output, Africa faces the challenge of access to qual...

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...

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...

Entrepreneurs from the diaspora are ramping up innovation-led development in Africa

The African diaspora is a unique resource that must be harnessed. Aside from channelling financial flows back to their countries of origin, thanks to experience acquired abroad and familiarity with th...

Developing organic fair trade sectors: the example of Kaoka

As an SME involved in cocoa production, Kaoka can see the destructive effects of an agricultural approach with little concern for the ecosystems where it is applied. By setting up organic fair trade p...

Protecting biodiversity for The Long Run, a holistic approach?

Faced with the current biodiversity and climate crises, privately protected areas, which play a pivotal role in biodiversity conservation, can improve the resilience of the conservation sector. The pr...

Why and how does Orange finance innovation in Africa?

Africa, which has already experienced some entrepreneurial success stories, is powering up and seeing the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs in innovation. However, digital Africa still fo...

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...