Unlocking Innovation in Pakistan’s Private Sector

In isolated areas of Pakistan, women face a variety of challenges to improving their health and livelihoods. Habiba, a mother of four daughters, treks the mountains of Mansehra to visit the nearest doctor, 10 miles away; she’s in her second trimester of pregnancy. Many young people lack access to quality secondary education due to their…

Flying the Last Mile — Integrating Cargo Drones into Health Supply Chains

This post originally appeared on Devex.   In remote regions of Malawi, terrain, infrastructure, and resource limitations delay — and can even prevent — lifesaving diagnoses and medicine deliveries to hospitals and health centers. Similar obstacles exist in countries across the developing world and the global health community is starting to turn to drones to…

In TransIT: Enhancing Visibility Across In-Country Supply Chains

A pregnant smallholder farmer in rural Mozambique has enough on her mind. Harvesting, getting wood, finding water, cooking, and feeding ― the list goes on. She also needs access to a clinic for an antenatal visit, where she should also receive long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) to protect her and her young children during the upcoming…

From Threat to Solution: Rethinking the Role of Communities in Nature Conservation

This post originally appeared on Mongabay. Photo courtesy of Samantha Cheng. The imperative for nature conservation has never been greater. A widely publicized intergovernmental report predicts extinction for more than a million species over the next few decades unless we drastically change human consumption and economic growth. This loss of species will threaten the global…

3 Questions with Roula Moussa on Private Sector Engagement in Lebanon

Roula Moussa is the CEO and founder of Netways. In 2017, she created DiasporaID, a digital platform that connects and promotes collaboration among Lebanese diaspora communities worldwide. As a partner under the USAID Asia and Middle East Economic Growth Best Practices (AMEG) program, Roula shares her experience pitching and scaling DiasporaID to USAID and recommends…

News: Chemonics International Is the Official Lead Scale Partner for UNLEASH

Chemonics International has announced an expansion of its partnership with UNLEASH, a global innovation lab that annually gathers 1,000 participants ages 20 to 35 — also known as “talents” — to collaborate on solutions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As Lead Scale Partner for UNLEASH, Chemonics will provide year-round support to enterprising young…

In Search of Common Ground: Applying Shared Lessons from Countering Violent Extremism and Preventing Gang Violence

This chapter was written by Chemonics employees Enrique Betancourt and Todd Diamond as part of an anthology published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) entitled “Sharpening Our Efforts: The Role of International Development in Countering Violent Extremism.” It proposes five principles aimed at countering and preventing violent extremism: adapting to the unstable…

Building the Tech Workforce through Private Sector Engagement

Many countries find themselves facing “brain drain” — mass exodus of bright young minds seeking greater opportunities for employment abroad. In the small European country Moldova, for instance, one third of the population has left to find living wages elsewhere. Fortunately, engaging the private sector in technology-related workforce development projects offers a sustainable, market-based solution.…

News: Innovation, Technology, and Advancing the SDGs at ICT4D 2019

Digital technology has had a profound impact on global development across sectors and in many parts of the world. From April 30 to May 3, public, private, and civil society organizations from more than 80 countries will convene for the 2019 Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) Conference in Kampala, Uganda. Now in its…