Businesses are slowly introducing chatbots in Africa, as more local users opt for mobile interactions through social media. At the end of 2015, 46 percent of the African population subscribed to mobile services, which is equivalent to more than half a billion people; interestingly, this percentage is expected to increase to 54 percent in 2020.
With such a growing use of smartphones, a chatbot revolution in Africa is not very far away.
The Chatbot Revolution
For starters – a chatbot simulates human conversation and are interactive. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), a chatbot is supported across different messaging platforms including Twitter and Facebook. Here are three chatbots in Africa automate services that are convenient and available 24/7 to users.
1. Leo
Recently, the United Bank of Africa (UBA), the Nigerian multinational financial institution, hired Leo — a chatbot. At the launch, Leo displayed a unique way of how bank customers could use social media platforms to carry out their banking activities.
UBA’s chat banker is a Facebook bot, something which the company says is “necessary in today’s fast-paced world with demands for quick-time transactions.” Customers will be able to carry out basic banking facilities like opening a new bank account, checking balances, transferring funds and receiving instant alerts. Additionally, customers will be able to pay bills, get answers to loan queries and applications and check balance statements.
2. Nuru
Nuru is created by UXstudio, a Budapest-based Hungarian start-up, and currently is available to users in Kenya and Ghana. This AI chatbot assists users in matters relating to agriculture, classified ads, finances and healthcare.
African farmers looking to sell can use Nuru to set prices. The chatbot automatically configures a price based on the type and the amount they have. The activation of the deal can only occur once the farmers are satisfied. Once activated, the buyers can reach out to the farmers through message or phone call.
For mobile money transactions, users in Kenya heavily rely on mPesa. Nuru integrates the transaction through Messenger — the chatbot asks for a password and, once authenticated, the transactions can successfully take place. Nuru also provides health tips based on questions asked by users.
3. Keirabot & Hazie
Keirabot is one of Botsza’s six tailor-made chatbots in Africa.
Botsza’s chatbots currently work across many industries like hotel reservation, flight booking, e-commerce, banks, finance, insurance and customer services. Currently supported on multiple messaging platforms, two chatbots are already operational for users — Haziebot and Keirabot.
Keirabot relieves users from the tiring process of searching homes by utilizing browsing functions via Facebook Messenger or Skype. Various tasks are performed using AI including credit checks, tenants, and comparisons between selling and buying a home.
Hazie, on the other hand, is a recruitment chatbot in Africa that allows job seekers to acquire ideal jobs. Users can simply apply for jobs using social media platforms like Facebook Messenger and Twitter.
Challenges
Despite extensive benefits, the revolution of chatbots in Africa faces challenges.
According to The World Bank, African mobile and wireless markets are highly concentrated; in 27 countries, one player has more than 50 percent market share. Monopolies are still present in Africa: eleven in international gateway services and six in wireless internet services.
Additionally, with more than half of the population yet to subscribe to a mobile service, a big challenge for Africa is to connect the unconnected and unleash the economic potential of increased connectivity. Such challenges would also involve the problems of moving text-based interactions to chatbot technology.
The Potential Solution
But the African youth may be the answer to such challenges. Sixty percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making Africa the world’s youngest region, according to World Economic Forum. Social media giants like Facebook and Google are already developing programs for the people in Africa.
In September 2016, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nairobi to learn more about mobile money and meet entrepreneurs and developers. The U.S. social media giant later announced that the center would host an “incubator program” to help develop technology start-ups while simultaneously training 50,000 Nigerians in digital skills.
In 2017, Google expanded its Africa initiatives following CEO Sundar Pichai’s visit to Nigeria. Alphabet also plans on increasing the funding for African startups by providing $20 million in grants to digital nonprofits. In April 2016, the company also launched Digital Skills for Africa, an initiative to provide free training (online and face-to-face) to people across 27 countries in Africa.
With such promising ventures, innovative technology in Africa could allow the country to stay on par with the rest of the world.
– Deena Zaidi
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Lack of Sustainable Agriculture in Togo
Togo’s small sub-Saharan economy is dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, with cocoa, coffee and cotton generating about 40 percent of export earnings. Additional products include beans, cassava, fish, livestock, maize, millet, rice, sorghum and yams. Of the nation’s total land area, 44 percent is used for cultivated crops and two percent for permanent crops like fruit- and nut-bearing trees.
The organization Fly for Life is a nonprofit with the mission to promote sustainable tourism and organic farming by improving the environment, education and incomes of farming communities. Jeremies Pimzi, a social entrepreneur, founded Fly for Life. With help from eco-volunteers, the organization has been able to successfully provide more sustainability in Togo, such as training programs in organic methods, sustainability education and financial management.
Eco-volunteers provide skills and training on increasing sustainable tourism and organic farming. In exchange, the volunteers gain firsthand knowledge about the local customs and culture and develop close relationships with the Togolese. Some of the funding from volunteers has also supported education in the small farming communities of Havu and Soumdina Mountain Village, helping families afford school for their children.
Over 90 percent of the small communities that Fly for Life engages with are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Environmental issues in Togo include deforestation due to slash-and-burn agriculture, the use of wood for fuel and water pollution. The nonprofit aims to transition the nation from unsustainable farming practices to organic methods.
Another key project that addressed sustainable agriculture in Togo was USAID WAFP, or West Africa Fertilizer Program, which occurred from 2012-2017. The project was meant to improve the supply and distribution of appropriate and affordable fertilizers in West Africa. The project broadened its reach to have regional impact across the West Africa sub-region, benefiting 15 ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries as well as Mauritania and Chad.
To accomplish its goal, WAFP focused on creating a conducive policy for increased investment in the fertilizer business. It facilitated access to business, investment and financing information that allowed the private sector to deliver quality and affordable fertilizers to farmers.
Because of the work of organizations and the implementation of eco-friendly ideas and practices, there can be better, more sustainable agriculture in Togo.
– Julia Lee
Photo: Flickr
How Book Aid International is Fostering Academic Growth in Africa
Education for All
One of the major U.N. Millenium Development goals was to have all school children complete primary level education by 2015. Although this was not achieved universally, there have still been several accomplishments in the sphere of education, and there are more children in schools now than ever before.
The U.N. reports that, from 2000 to 2015, enrollment in primary education rose from 83 percent to 91 percent. Additionally, the literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 skyrocketed from 83 percent to 91 percent between 1990 and 2015. One nonprofit located in the U.K., Book Aid International, can be accredited for helping the U.N. achieve these goals.
The Gateway to Knowledge
Book Aid International is a firm believer that the gateway to knowledge is through reading. Access to information can prevent children from falling into poverty, increase future job opportunities and improve their life expectancy past the age of five by 50 percent. As a result, Book Aid International has developed a program revolved around the power of books called Inspiring Readers.
Inspiring Readers donates books to schools in Africa where resource scarcity is a major issue. Through this program, schools receive a library of 1,250 new books and selected teachers from the schools receive specialized training to ensure that the books will be well utilized. Inspiring Readers also ensures that each school gets further resources and assistance by partnering up with a local library.
The program has already seen success. One particular Kenyan school that partnered with Book Aid International has received recognition from the community for improved student academic performance. The school stated in 2017 that students’ test scores have improved from 48 percent to 54 percent in Kiswahili, 48 percent to 50 percent in English and 45 percent to 52 percent in science.
Fostering Academic Growth in Africa
Overall, Inspiring Readers has brought 63,710 books to 50 schools around Africa. The organization has also trained 150 teachers and 20 librarians. Consequently, 31,343 children have been impacted by this program. However, Book Aid International does not want to stop there. Its goal is to reach 250,000 children by 2020.
Book Aid International estimates that it needs £2,600 per school to achieve this goal. There are many ways to help the nonprofit meet this goal, but it relies mostly on donations for funding. Small amounts of money can make a huge difference, as Book Aid International indicates it only costs £2 to send one book to a partnering school. The organization also accepts donations of new books.
Book Aid International has already made huge strides forward in fostering academic growth in Africa, nurturing children’s interests in reading as well as training teachers to become better motivators and instructors. This will only lead children to success and will ultimately help the U.N. in accomplishing its goal of education for all.
– Mary McCarthy
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in Cuba: Cuentapropistas Are in Need
There are over half a million legally registered cuentapropistas in Cuba and the numbers are still rising. These Meso, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) are an important economic asset to both Cubans and travelers, providing them with a wide variety of goods and services, creating employment and generating income.
Although microfinance lending has widened, it is still very limited. Statistics collected from the Central Bank of Cuba showed that in the wake of the government banking reform in 2011, 378,011 people received financing worth $135 million between the years 2012 and 2014. Only 34 percent of lending went to sole farmers and small enterprises, while micro enterprises accounted for about 2.6 percent. 63 percent of the loans that were lent went toward financing the construction of homes and renovating businesses.
Microcredit has been available in Cuba solely through local banks, as opposed to international banks or NGOs, which has presented a number of disadvantages to its success. Many Cubans lack a credit history, which has ruined the credibility and creditworthiness of borrowers. Another obstacle hindering credit access in Cuba is the lack of knowledge of the usage of credit among business owners primarily due to the many years of the nation’s state-owned and-operated political and economic system.
However, this has not stopped Credit4Cuba, a nonprofit foundation established in the year 2015 in the Netherlands by Marije Oosterhek and Dennis Schmidt. This organization is making a difference for cuentapropistas by supporting small and growing enterprise development in Cuba. Credit4Cuba works closely with existing groups in Cuba by providing the proper practical training and coaching assistance to entrepreneurs hoping to enter the world of cuentapropistas in order to expand their existing business.
Aside from offering training and coaching, Credit4Cuba aims to set up a social impact hub in Havana. It hopes to create a social community where entrepreneurs can meet to interchange experiences and collaborate on ideas in order to create opportunities and join efforts toward developing their businesses. In the near future, Credit4Cuba will work to connect cuentapropistas with social investors, entrepreneurs and trainers worldwide, provided that all participants will contribute toward the Sustainable Development Goals and work to create a positive influence in Cuba.
Microfinance organizations similar to Credit4Cuba, like the Grameen Bank and Kiva, are not only helping the economy for developing countries to prosper, but they are also contributing to the reduction of poverty. Credit access in Cuba for small business owners is slowly moving in the right direction.
– Zainab Adebayo
Photo: Pixabay
Addressing the Success of Humanitarian Aid to Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor and officially known as The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a sovereign state made up of a small cluster of islands in maritime Southeast Asia. After gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, Timor-Leste struggled through a quarter of a century under occupation, mass conflict and United Nations transition before finally being granted full independence in 2002.
As a result of the struggle Timor-Leste faced while gaining independence, the country was left with little infrastructure, an unstable economy and widespread poverty. Due to the country’s high instability, Timor-Leste is one of the most malnourished countries in the world. This results in a lack of food security, lack of hygiene and sanitation and an increase in poverty.
Despite receiving an abundance of humanitarian and transition relief since gaining its independence in 2002, Timor-Leste is still considered one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. However, in the past five years, there has been a resurgence in the success of humanitarian aid to Timor-Leste. The main donor to Timor-Leste is the nation of Australia.
In 2014, the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) began sending regular humanitarian aid to Timor-Leste. HART is a small aid organization originally founded by the United Kingdom but has since branched out into Australia and the United States. The aid organization focuses on working with communities in conflict zones, post-war zones or areas were people are exploited for cultural or political reasons.
On World Food Day 2014, HART released a detailed briefing on malnutrition and its consequences in Timor-Leste, such as high infant and child mortality rates. Shortly after releasing this briefing, HART worked with its partner, HAIM Health, to create programs and teaching centers to better educate the Timorese on proper nutrition. Programs focus on understanding nutrition, a balanced diet, preparing and cooking food and healthy sanitation practices. HAIM Health also follows up with the families enrolled in its education programs and has an 80 percent success rate of children gaining or sustaining weight.
Humanitarian aid to Timor-Leste does not stop with HART and HAIM Health. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Australian government signed the East Timor Strategic Planning Agreement for Development in 2011, which establishes a shared vision of economic stability and growth between Australia and Timor-Leste. Since the signing of this agreement, Timor-Leste has seen many improvements in its development and further success toward a stable economy. In 2017-18 alone, Australia is expected to give approximately $96 million in humanitarian aid to Timor-Leste.
Thanks to Australia’s humanitarian aid to Timor-Leste, the Timorese have already seen positive results, including more than 40,000 people being provided the education and skill set needed to join the growing workforce. Also, over 21 thousand people now have access to clean water and hygiene programs and over 90 percent of primary schools now have a new and innovative curriculum, geared toward giving the students the skills they need to succeed.
Despite these improvements from humanitarian aid to Timor-Leste, the country still has a lot of room for improvement. The poverty rate in 2014 was 41.8 percent, which is still very high. With this groundwork laid, the Timorese will be able to build a brighter and more stable future.
– Courtney Wallace
Photo: Flickr
Solar Energy in Zambia Will Help Bring People Out of Poverty
Problems with Current Zambian Energy Infrastructure
A majority of Zambia’s nationalized energy production is created using hydroelectric dams; however, the dams face many problems in terms of their reach and reliability. Dams in the country only provide power to 10 percent of the Zambian population. Furthermore, the dams become unreliable as drought conditions increase throughout southern Africa. Zambia’s climate pattern works around a wet and dry season. As the rainy seasons become shorter and less intense, the dams are not filled to capacity. Less water in dam spillways inherently results in less energy production and more frequent blackouts.
Consequently, a majority of Zambians rely on charcoal to meet their energy and heat needs. The need for charcoal results in widespread deforestation of the savannah woodlands that make up a majority of the Zambian natural ecosystem. As a result, habitat destruction decreases biodiversity, degrades the natural ecosystem services and damages what could be a lucrative Zambian ecotourism industry. Because of these problems, the Zambian government and outside investors are looking toward solar alternatives, recognizing the benefits of solar energy in Zambia.
The Solution: Solar Energy in Zambia
Director of the Zambian Development Agency (ZDA) Patrick Chisanga and other branches of the Zambian government are teaming up with investors throughout the United States and Europe to provide funding toward solar energy in Zambia. The ZDA is currently negotiating a $500 million solar investment deal from an unnamed German company hoping to provide projects and products to the growing market.
In 2015, USAID Zambia and Power Africa provided $2 million of funding to the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Scaling Solar project, which has contributed $4 billion in global solar investments, to further develop smaller-scale commercial and utility solar energy in Zambia. NGOs like the U.K.-based Solar Aid are currently working in conjunction with a group called Sunny Munny to develop solar projects and provide resources to the very eager Zambian communities.
Moving Toward the Future
Solar energy development in Zambia continues what is already a growing trend of technological leapfrogging throughout the African continent. Zambians understand that they may never be a part of the nationalized power grid and therefore readily accept solar energy infrastructure as a solution to this problem. In a report conducted by BBC in Jan. 2018, reporters describe buzzing excitement in villages after they set up their solar technologies and finally had access to their own non-biofuel energy source.
With the help of Zambian government action, USAID investment, private investment and nonprofits like SolarAid, solar energy in Zambia will help the country approach several of its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: providing citizen access to reliable modern energy resources, building resilient infrastructure and protecting and restoring natural ecosystems within the country.
– Daniel Levy
Photo: Flickr
Build Africa: How Education Will Be the End of Poverty
Build Africa currently works in Kenya and Uganda. Some of its accomplishments include:
On the grassroots level of Build Africa, the ultimate goal is to have “every child learning.” Learning the skills they need in order to thrive, such as basic reading and writing, can oftentimes be difficult for children, particularly if that child faces challenges such as working to improve household income, long distances that could potentially be dangerous, or just being a girl. With Build Africa, locals are trained to be staff members to work personally with the children in the schools, meaning they can adjust perspectives and truly get to know the child they are helping. Lesson plans can range from math and reading to basic financial skills and growing sustainable crops.
Applying real-life scenarios in classrooms allows for the students to connect and relate school with their own lives. In other words, they are actually retaining and repeating what they have done in school in their everyday lives. Emphasizing life skills like cooking and doing taxes, rather than making children memorize ordinary academic standards, better prepares these children for the real world.
Build Africa strives to “improve access to education for children and improve the quality of education received.” Quality education on basic life skills leads to independence and more opportunities. One of Build Africa’s most recent projects is called the Parallel Learning Project, a literacy program for young mothers in Western Uganda, where there is a very low female literacy rate. According to the Director-General of UNESCO, if a mother is able to read, her child is twice as likely to survive beyond five years of age.
The outcomes the organization hopes to achieve are:
Build Africa is creating change within communities by simply providing education. Whether it be in a school or in a daycare center, knowledge is knowledge, and its long-term effects are nothing but positive.
– Irimar Waters
Photo: Flickr
How the U.S. Benefits From Foreign Aid to Jordan
USAID provides assistance for medium to small-scale enterprises, employing up to 75 percent of Jordan’s workforce. As a result of funding business development since 2006, tens of thousands of jobs have been created, yielding $1 billion in new investment. Since then, exports from Jordan to the U.S. have increased by almost $50 million.
The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Jordan in a multitude of ways, but it also benefits from trade. Jordan currently ranks sixty-seventh among the largest U.S. trading partners. The U.S. and Jordan entered a Free Trade Agreement in 2001, eventually eliminating business tariffs for bilateral trade in goods and services, a huge benefit for U.S. companies. According to the latest data, U.S. exports of goods and services to Jordan supported an estimated 11,000 American jobs in the year 2015.
Nestled in the heart of the Arab Spring, Jordan is a voice for moderation, peace and reform in the Middle East, a region saturated with turmoil. Jordan’s central geographic position creates pressure on the Jordanian government for economic and democratic reform. The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Jordan by strengthening the Middle Eastern nation’s political and economic processes, which in turn counters terrorist groups such as ISIL and promotes the Middle East peace process.
Jordan is a haven for many Syrian and Iraqi refugees. U.S. aid supports a bilateral relationship by helping Jordan temporarily absorb over 635,000 Syrian refugees and 52,000 Iraqi refugees. The influx of refugees is a challenge for the Jordanian government, but with a strong agenda for political and economic reform, and with the help of U.S. aid, Jordan serves as a partner with the U.S. in addressing the Syrian refugee conflict.
The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Jordan because it helps boost international leadership. Foreign aid puts America on an influential level in international politics. When U.S. foreign aid is promoting a region, it boosts American interests. The Middle East faces a complex regional conflict, which affects American soil with terrorism and refugee crises. By contributing to humanitarian aid and development, American interests hold more power.
Assistance to the Middle East and North Africa has been a highly debated topic in the United States, particularly in the recent past with President Trump’s administration’s proposed 2018 budget cut targeting international aid. In truth, there are many ways the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Jordan greatly.
– Alex Galante
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Artificial Intelligence Update: Meet the Chatbots in Africa
Businesses are slowly introducing chatbots in Africa, as more local users opt for mobile interactions through social media. At the end of 2015, 46 percent of the African population subscribed to mobile services, which is equivalent to more than half a billion people; interestingly, this percentage is expected to increase to 54 percent in 2020.
With such a growing use of smartphones, a chatbot revolution in Africa is not very far away.
The Chatbot Revolution
For starters – a chatbot simulates human conversation and are interactive. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), a chatbot is supported across different messaging platforms including Twitter and Facebook. Here are three chatbots in Africa automate services that are convenient and available 24/7 to users.
1. Leo
Recently, the United Bank of Africa (UBA), the Nigerian multinational financial institution, hired Leo — a chatbot. At the launch, Leo displayed a unique way of how bank customers could use social media platforms to carry out their banking activities.
UBA’s chat banker is a Facebook bot, something which the company says is “necessary in today’s fast-paced world with demands for quick-time transactions.” Customers will be able to carry out basic banking facilities like opening a new bank account, checking balances, transferring funds and receiving instant alerts. Additionally, customers will be able to pay bills, get answers to loan queries and applications and check balance statements.
2. Nuru
Nuru is created by UXstudio, a Budapest-based Hungarian start-up, and currently is available to users in Kenya and Ghana. This AI chatbot assists users in matters relating to agriculture, classified ads, finances and healthcare.
African farmers looking to sell can use Nuru to set prices. The chatbot automatically configures a price based on the type and the amount they have. The activation of the deal can only occur once the farmers are satisfied. Once activated, the buyers can reach out to the farmers through message or phone call.
For mobile money transactions, users in Kenya heavily rely on mPesa. Nuru integrates the transaction through Messenger — the chatbot asks for a password and, once authenticated, the transactions can successfully take place. Nuru also provides health tips based on questions asked by users.
3. Keirabot & Hazie
Keirabot is one of Botsza’s six tailor-made chatbots in Africa.
Botsza’s chatbots currently work across many industries like hotel reservation, flight booking, e-commerce, banks, finance, insurance and customer services. Currently supported on multiple messaging platforms, two chatbots are already operational for users — Haziebot and Keirabot.
Keirabot relieves users from the tiring process of searching homes by utilizing browsing functions via Facebook Messenger or Skype. Various tasks are performed using AI including credit checks, tenants, and comparisons between selling and buying a home.
Hazie, on the other hand, is a recruitment chatbot in Africa that allows job seekers to acquire ideal jobs. Users can simply apply for jobs using social media platforms like Facebook Messenger and Twitter.
Challenges
Despite extensive benefits, the revolution of chatbots in Africa faces challenges.
According to The World Bank, African mobile and wireless markets are highly concentrated; in 27 countries, one player has more than 50 percent market share. Monopolies are still present in Africa: eleven in international gateway services and six in wireless internet services.
Additionally, with more than half of the population yet to subscribe to a mobile service, a big challenge for Africa is to connect the unconnected and unleash the economic potential of increased connectivity. Such challenges would also involve the problems of moving text-based interactions to chatbot technology.
The Potential Solution
But the African youth may be the answer to such challenges. Sixty percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making Africa the world’s youngest region, according to World Economic Forum. Social media giants like Facebook and Google are already developing programs for the people in Africa.
In September 2016, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nairobi to learn more about mobile money and meet entrepreneurs and developers. The U.S. social media giant later announced that the center would host an “incubator program” to help develop technology start-ups while simultaneously training 50,000 Nigerians in digital skills.
In 2017, Google expanded its Africa initiatives following CEO Sundar Pichai’s visit to Nigeria. Alphabet also plans on increasing the funding for African startups by providing $20 million in grants to digital nonprofits. In April 2016, the company also launched Digital Skills for Africa, an initiative to provide free training (online and face-to-face) to people across 27 countries in Africa.
With such promising ventures, innovative technology in Africa could allow the country to stay on par with the rest of the world.
– Deena Zaidi
Photo: Flickr
Major Accomplishments of Doctors Without Borders
As poverty is addressed around the world, there is a need for people in all kinds of specialties but especially the medical field. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is an international medical humanitarian organization helping people from over 60 countries threatened by violence, conflict, neglect, natural disasters, epidemics, health emergencies and exclusion from healthcare.
They address areas where the need is greatest, unbiasedly delivering emergency medical aid. There have been many accomplishments of Doctors Without Borders, but here are three of their most recent projects:
1. Hospital in Tasnimarkhola
Doctors Without Borders constructed a new hospital in Tasnimarkhola camp, Bangladesh in three weeks. The hospital has an emergency room, an intensive care unit, a pharmacy and sterilization unit. In its first month of operation, MSF staff admitted 220 patients with more than half needing treatment for measles.
2. Medical Assistance to Refugees
MSF provided medical assistance to refugees and migrants in the central Mediterranean. At sea, the search and rescue vessel Aquarius — run by MSF in cooperation with humanitarian organization SOS MEDITERRANEE — rescued 3,645 people and brought those rescued to ports of safety in Italy.
Doctors Without Borders also provided psychological first-aid after tragic rescues while also running several mental health and healthcare projects in Sicily. In Libya, the MSF teams provided medical assistance to refugees and migrants that were arbitrarily held in detention centers nominally under the control of the Ministry of Interior.
3. Treatment of War-Wounded People in Taiz
Doctors Without Borders has a team treating war-wounded people in Taiz. Currently, Taiz is one of the most intense conflict zones in the country with extremely high humanitarian needs. Doctors Without Borders are one of the few medical organizations in Taiz who remain committed to working in Yemen.
These three specific accomplishments of Doctors Without Borders are some of many; the staff continuously works hard, laborious hours to save the lives of those affected by poverty.
War, disease and lack of resources are major contributing factors of poverty, and Doctors Without Borders have been able to impact these areas beyond its immediate activities, reaching populations or developing the use of practices in ways that have far-reaching and lasting consequences (see MSF-USA’s 2012 Annual Report).
The accomplishments of Doctors Without Borders are so powerful because so many people are committed to addressing the great needs of poverty and bringing hope to those around the world.
– Julia Lee
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in Malaysia: Increasing Effectiveness and Efficiency
Malaysia is a rapidly growing economic country with only 0.6 percent of its population living below the poverty line. The country’s economy is largely dependent on Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which comprise 36 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and also provide employment to 65 percent of the population.
Despite this success, however, financial institutions were reluctant in granting loans to SMEs, thereby making credit access in Malaysia difficult. The reasons behind these barriers include a lack of:
Small to Medium Enterprises
SMEs are important for Malaysia’s growth and development as these organizations represent almost 97 percent of the country’s business establishment; such enterprises therefore provide a vital source for job creations. Sometimes these small businesses start as an idea from a few people investing their own money or borrowing from friends and family.
With success, extension of businesses become inevitable and then require money to hire new people, develop new products and facilitate other business necessities. Due to this chain, the administration came up with ideas to ease the process of credit access in Malaysia.
Credit Guarantee Corporation
Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) of Malaysia with their 45 years of experience came with a wide variety of schemes for supporting SMEs. Some of them are Biz-Mula for Malaysian start-up companies, Biz-Wanita for women headed enterprises, Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) for supporting sustainable energy and also other schemes for indigenous Malaysians.
The CGC schemes cover almost 50 to 90 percent of the risks of granting loans in exchange for a 2 to 3.5 percent fee; this coverage thus makes credit access in Malaysia accessible for many small to medium business organizations. The scheme is properly designed and verified so as to be accepted by the banks in Malaysia.
Benefits for Small and Medium Enterprises
Biz-Mula is a direct financing scheme for small businesses less than four years old. These schemes utilize Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for the funding of SMEs. With certain eligibility and restriction criteria, the financing amounts range from 30,000 to 300,000 Malaysian roubles (RM).
Biz-Wanita scheme is the same as Biz-Wala except it only funds women entrepreneurs; both Biz-Mula and Biz-Wanita work for all economic sectors, except primary agriculture and micro-enterprises.
The GTFS provides opportunity for green investments by offering a 60 percent guarantee on the financing amount and a 2 percent discount on the interest or profit rates. This scheme was accessible from both private and commercial financial institutions till December 2017; this support greatly helped in the expansion of the green technology sector.
Pembiayaan Mikro scheme provides financing for up to 50,000 RM without collateral to micro enterprises who oftentimes lack credit history. The scheme can also offer lower-rate finance through BNM’s Micro Enterprise Fund.
Benefits from Foreign Direct Investments
Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Malaysia ranged between $9 to $12 billion during the years of 2010 through 2017. According to the data gathered from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the majority of these investments stem from China, Japan, the Netherlands and the U.S. Generally, the funds originate from the service, mining, manufacturing and construction fields, and come with a promise of almost 61,930 job opportunities through 2,294 projects.
Malaysia is a country where credit access has been strategically eased for business growth through the lowering of collateral requirements, longer-term loans and lower interest rates. These changes were possible by joint initiatives from both the administration and financial institutions and hopefully will continue to be effective and helpful to the people of Malaysia.
– Mahua Mitra
Photo: Flickr