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Project

The Alliance to Scale Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Seed Alliance)
 

Central Asia
South Asia
Far East Asia
South America
Project ID
108044
Total Funding
CAD 1,170,630.00
IDRC Officer
Phet Sayo
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
24 months

Programs and partnerships

Networked Economies

Lead institution(s)

Project leader:
Alan P. Barrett
Mauritius

Project leader:
Paul Wilson
Australia

Summary

This project will support digital innovations that solve development challenges. It will establish a seed funding program, develop approaches for scaling up innovations, and nurture entrepreneurial leaders.Read more

This project will support digital innovations that solve development challenges. It will establish a seed funding program, develop approaches for scaling up innovations, and nurture entrepreneurial leaders. Digital revolution driving change Digital innovations are driving transformative changes around the world and generating new opportunities for growth in developing countries. Greater affordability and accessibly of digital products and services have provided the foundation for rapid growth of start-ups across the developing world. M-Pesa, for instance, was started through a small donor-funded grant. One of the first mobile banking platforms, M-Pesa now boasts more than 21 million users in Kenya and Tanzania alone. Seed funding and mentorship for business growth The Alliance to Scale Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship will identify and support opportunities for scaling digital innovations that solve development challenges in education, governance, health, the environment, and the economy. It combines three regional, competitive small grants and awards programs from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. More specifically, the Alliance will implement a competitive seed-funding program. It will also create business and social impact mentorship programs that will nurture entrepreneurial leaders to scale and commercialize digital innovations. Finally, it will develop best practices for stimulating and scaling digital innovations to ensure they have impact.

Research outputs

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Paper
Language:

English

Summary

This project supports the continuing global impact of the Seed Alliance, with a particular focus on scaling of technological solutions and supporting entrepreneurship through increased investment in mentoring that supports grantees in developing and scaling their products. Larger grants were provided to support this approach as well as one inter-regional grant, funding for inter-regional exchanges among grant recipients, and mentoring and networking opportunities according to regional contexts, conducted under the supervision of the African Network Information Center - AFRINIC (FIRE Africa), the Asia Pacific Network Information Center - APNIC (ISIF Asia) and the Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean - LACNIC (FRIDA).

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