Earlier this year we took a group of philanthropists and partners to visit some of the social businesses in our portfolio in Uganda including Godson Commodities, Impact Water&Tugende. We also visited Kenya to see some of our pipeline companies. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet not only with the social entrepreneurs, but with the people whose lives have been changed with the products, services and higher incomes that the social businesses provide.
If I told you that the key to a greener city looked like a lego-style cubic car that could be assembled like IKEA furniture (well almost)… would you believe me? Whilst Elon Musk's view of the future is made up of bullet proof steel, the french startup, XYT is building a future built on inclusion, simplicity and functionality.
Imagine that when you cook a meal, your only means of doing so is by lighting an open fire inside your kitchen. Thick plumes of black smoke fill the room where you and your family cook and eat every evening. Since this is your only means of cooking, you pay significant amounts every year to buy the fuel for it.
Back in March, when we were first reacting to the lockdowns of the early pandemic, it became clear very quickly that the economic and social effects were going to hit the poorest people the hardest.