Publication database

Based on interviews with movers and shapers involved in off-grid electrification projects in Africa and Asia this paper looks at how standalone electricity and mini-grids can increase access to electricity. It opportunities and challenges and comes up with a five-point plan to accelerate electrification.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Philippines have created innovative mechanisms to address the financing needs of low-income families and entrepreneurs. Most recently, some MFIs have begun experimenting with microinsurance as means of reducing their clients’ vulnerability to a range of risks. To learn about these nascent activities, this study maps the microinsurance landscape and establishes knowledge on the regulatory framework for insurance in Philippines; identifies the details of microinsurance operations; and examine the demand for insurance by micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

This research report uses country level data and expert interviews to understand the critical gender gaps and entrepreneurial solutions to advance the lives of women in Southeast Asia. The study outlines a framework that captures economic empowerment, personal safety and mobility, formal representation, education, health, time and decision-making as seven mutually reinforcing dimensions that are critical to women’s empowerment in Southeast Asia. The report shows that while many development indicators demonstrate that the lives of women in Asia have drastically improved, endemic problems continue to keep them from fulfilling their potential.

This report investigates the demand for toilets in rural India, and the availability of quality and affordable products as well as financing for unlocking this demand. It proposes sanitation business models that could profitably deliver solutions that meet customer needs, and it highlights players in the sanitation ecosystem who could serve as the “market maker,” conducting market-building activities and creating an enabling environment for growth. It is a project output of 3SI, a 5-year project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aimed to develop scalable private-sector business models for the local sanitation market.

The report maps the social enterprise space in the Philippines. It provides an overview of key government support and regulatory barriers, interested investors, investor attitudes and discussion on the barriers to investment, and information about the support organisations within the ecosystem by category and sector.

This case study looks reviews a VECO chain development project in Vietnam, aiming to improve the quality of the tea by developing strong market linkages and collective actions, resulting in a better income for farmers.

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) launched the Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund (AWEF) in 2019 with support from the Visa Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The overall goal of AWEF-funded projects is to address the gender financing gap for women-owned small and growing businesses (SGBs) in developing economies. The first round of grantmaking, AWEF Asia, funded eight entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) in Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India, as well as programs serving the region as a whole. This report summarizes the lessons learned from these grants.

The report proposes a framework of synergistic elements necessary to advance inclusion, empowerment and equality. It provides evidence that promoting empowerment and inclusion are necessary approaches to reduce inequality and accelerate progress towards a broad array of Sustainable Development Goals. It draws out policy messages on how an empowerment-and-inclusion approach to policymaking can be fostered.

This report explores the importance of renewable energy for sustainable development in the Philippines and showcases renewable energy trends and policies in the region. The study also shows the engagement of GIZ and describes the support to the Climate Change Commission in the Implementation of the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change and the National Climate Change Action Plan (SupportCCC) Project as well as the Project Development Program Southeast Asia (PEP SOA) in the context of the “renewables - Made in Germany” initiative.

This thesis reviews five elements needed by social enterprises working at the base of the pyramid in order to achieve scale and sustainability, drawing upon examples from the Philippine BOP retail market. It reviews and makes recommendations for BOP theory development and encourages further research into BOP consumer behaviour.