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The FSD Africa and FSDAi venture finance portfolio consists of numerous funds and platforms targeting climate action, gender-lens investing, and financial inclusion across the African continent. Key climate-focused initiatives include Africa Climate Ventures, which aims to reduce 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030, and the Catalyst Fund, which targets 40 pre-seed climate resilience start-ups. Gender-focused funds such as Aruwa Capital and RiTA Fund I specifically address capital imbalances for female-led businesses. The portfolio also includes sector-specific vehicles for fintech (First Circle Capital), insurance (Inclusive Insurance Investment Fund), and renewable energy (Nithio, Spark Energy), utilizing a mix of equity, grants, and debt to catalyze private investment and drive sustainable economic growth.

FSD Africa co-funded the Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) from 2016 to 2021 to train digital finance professionals in low-middle income countries. The partnership established the Certified Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP) qualification and reached over 15,000 professionals. Key achievements include the creation of 22 Communities of Practice across 20 countries and the development of 47 DFS regulations, policies, or directives.

The document analyzes insurance penetration and market performance in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, highlighting a significant risk-protection gap. In Nigeria, only 8% of 138 million adults with bank accounts and mobile phones are covered by insurance. Across the four countries, the combined insurance asset base exceeded USD 10 billion in 2016, yet investments remain predominantly short-term, and a large portion of non-life risk is transferred offshore, particularly in Nigeria (81%) and Ghana (65%).

The document assesses how the COVID-19 pandemic strained sovereign debt management offices (DMOs) in the MEFMI region, highlighting a general lack of comprehensive business continuity plans and procedure manuals. While most countries maintained legal debt limits and audit frequencies, the crisis forced a shift toward remote work and virtual coordination, which increased operational risks and compromised the segregation of duties. The report recommends strengthening operational risk frameworks, investing in digital infrastructure, and introducing 'escape clauses' in regional debt convergence criteria to better handle future crises.

The study examines how COVID-19 affected the fiscal positions and debt sustainability of MEFMI member countries, noting a sharp increase in average debt-to-GDP ratios from 63.6% in 2019 to 70.6% in 2020. It highlights the critical role of Local Currency Bond Markets (LCBMs) and international initiatives like the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in maintaining stability. The report identifies significant gaps in operational risk management, specifically the absence of business continuity plans in most member states, and recommends strengthening institutional capacity, technology investment, and the development of transparent debt management strategies to build future resilience.

The document examines the requirements for building onshore financial centres in Africa capable of competing with established conduits like Mauritius. It identifies Mauritius and Johannesburg as the most compelling current jurisdictions, while noting the ambitions of Rwanda and Kenya. It also highlights the potential role of donors in providing technical assistance to ensure international best practice in regulatory structures.

The Value for Money (VfM) Framework establishes a consistent, evaluative approach for FSD programmes to determine if resources are used effectively to reduce poverty. It moves beyond simple indicators by using 'rubrics'—predefined criteria and performance standards—to make reasoned judgements. The framework is built on the 'Four Es' (Economy, Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Equity) plus Cost-effectiveness, and is aligned with Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) and the FSD Compendium of Indicators. It emphasizes a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data with qualitative narratives to account for the complexity of market system changes.

The Youth Enterprise Grants (YEG) pilot project is a two-year intervention providing approximately $1,200 in grants and a smartphone to over 1,000 youth (aged 18-35) in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya. The project aims to test whether capital injections and digital access can shift youth from casual labor to sustainable self-employment. Initial findings indicate a significant increase in self-employment, rising from 37% to 64% among recipients, and a marked improvement in financial status, with over 75% reporting income increases beyond the grant value. While smartphones are critical for market knowledge and client acquisition via social media, specialized money management apps like Touch Doh saw limited use. The project also highlights a strong preference for 'illiquidity' in savings to prevent spending, often achieved through informal groups or M-Shwari.

The YEG pilot project provided approximately $1,200 in grants and a smartphone to over 1,000 youth (aged 18-35) in Mathare, Nairobi, to encourage business investment. Findings show a significant shift from casual labour to self-employment, with the proportion of self-employed recipients increasing from 37% to 79%. While smartphones were critical for market access and business operations via social media and M-PESA, the project noted high device attrition due to theft and loss. The study concludes that unconditional cash transfers via mobile money are highly feasible and effective for urban youth, though long-term success is often hindered by external shocks and a lack of basic services rather than a lack of business skills.

The Green Economy Coalition and partner organisations highlight the link between inequality and environmental degradation, noting that green policies are not inherently fair. They call for a collaborative effort to integrate inclusion and sustainability, citing examples from Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya, and the UK to demonstrate how economic development can be both green and fair.

The briefing argues that the COVID-19 crisis exposed systemic fragilities and provides an opportunity to build resilience against climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality. It outlines ten priority options, including the adoption of green economy principles, the use of 'Green Deals', the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, and the implementation of gender-responsive recovery plans. The authors emphasize that recovery spending must align with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, particularly in the global South where public debt may limit fiscal space.

This report by the Green Economy Coalition reviews the first ten years of the SEED Awards (2005-2015), an initiative founded by UNEP, UNDP, and IUCN to support social and environmental enterprises. It analyzes the survival and impact of 202 SEED Winners across 37 countries, highlighting the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships and tailored support in fostering green and inclusive growth at the grassroots level.

The document summarizes a consultation held on May 17-18, 2022, involving 50 experts to address gaps in resilience measurement. It establishes principles and 3-to-5-year priorities for four key areas: ensuring evidence is demand-driven and co-produced with communities; integrating psychosocial well-being while accounting for cultural bias; improving the mapping and analysis of complex systems; and leveraging resilience frameworks to better measure climate adaptation and future-oriented capacities.

MAVUNOLAB is a youth-driven innovation centre implementing a project to reduce fish food loss and waste in the Lake Victoria region of Tanzania. The initiative focuses on the Dagaa value chain, where 10-22% of fish caught on the Tanzanian side is wasted, primarily due to ineffective traditional sun-drying and smoking methods. MAVUNOLAB has developed a low-cost solar-powered dryer capable of drying up to 250 kg in less than four hours as of 2024, with a goal to provide these to 150 fish processors by 2027. The project specifically targets women, who traditionally handle post-harvest processing but face high financial risks and gender inequalities, including dependency on men for fish and drying equipment. By integrating technical innovation with social empowerment, the initiative aims to reduce women's debt and improve their economic independence. MAVUNOLAB employs a community-centered approach, using needs assessments and partnerships with Beach Management Units (BMUs), local government, and Sokoine University of Agriculture to refine its technology and ensure local alignment.

The Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) challenge, a partnership between the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and Shockwave Foundation, supports agricultural entrepreneurs in East Africa. The program identifies nature-positive, scalable solutions that build climate resilience and protect biodiversity while offering a profitable revenue model. Selected winners (between 6 and 10 submissions) receive a comprehensive support package including up to 24 hours of mentoring, access to a Leadership Academy, communications support, and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) assistance. Successful graduates who meet pre-agreed criteria are eligible for a cash prize of up to 50,000 USD for implementation and scaling over 12 months. Applications are assessed on a 100-point scale covering impact, innovation, equity, additionality, profitability, team experience, and risk.

The Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) challenge, a partnership between the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and Munich Re Foundation, seeks proposals from not-for-profit organizations in East Africa for nature-positive agricultural innovations. Selected winners will receive up to 50,000 USD in funding, tailored mentoring, leadership training, and connections to private investors to enhance the scalability and viability of their projects. Applications are evaluated on innovativeness, impact, equity, scalability, viability, team composition, and risk.

The document examines Zowasel's pilot initiative in Kenya and Tanzania, which aims to build resilience for small-scale sorghum farmers through a digital marketplace and physical Crop Centres. The program addresses challenges such as limited market access, poor grain quality, and the need for supply chain transparency driven by global regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). By connecting farmers and cooperatives directly to corporate buyers, Zowasel seeks to reduce reliance on intermediaries, promote regenerative agriculture, and enable farmers to access carbon credit markets. The analysis evaluates the initiative's transformative potential across five dimensions: alignment with contexts, resource enablement, relationship building, shifting power structures, and supporting systems learning.

The guidelines establish standards for container-based sanitation (CBS), a system where toilets collect excreta in sealable containers for transport to treatment facilities. It defines a service chain comprising customer relations, design and operations (containment, collection, and transfer), and the commercialisation of reuse products. The document outlines 'Safe Minimum Standards' and 'Aspirational Standards' across the sanitation chain, including toilet design (in-home vs. standalone), servicing frequency (typically 2-3 times per week), container cleaning, and waste beneficiation into products like animal protein, biochar, and liquid fertiliser. It emphasizes the importance of user engagement, occupational health and safety (OHS) for workers, and the integration of CBS into broader waste management and urban planning, particularly for informal settlements where sewer infrastructure is not feasible.

The report presents survey results from 920 economics students and graduates across 85 countries, finding that a vast majority believe the discipline's reliance on neoclassical economics fails to prepare them for real-world crises. Key findings highlight a lack of teaching on alternatives to the price mechanism during pandemics, the absence of links between the economy and the environment, and a failure to address systemic racial and gender biases. The authors advocate for curriculum reform that incorporates other social sciences and diverse schools of thought to produce economists capable of addressing contemporary global challenges.

The document analyzes the impact of the Trump administration's 'reciprocal tariffs' on the Global South, specifically Africa, and argues that these policies signal the end of preferential market access under AGOA. It suggests that African nations should respond by rerouting trade through the AfCFTA and BRICS, implementing targeted import substitution industrialisation, and creating collective bargaining platforms to negotiate with external powers.