The biggest bang for our limited water and sanitation buck: can investing in small towns lead the way?

While the share of poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa decreased from 56 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 2012, the region’s rapid population growth outpaced the decrease in the_biggest_bang_for_our_limited_water_and_sanitation_buck_investing_in_small_towns_-_graphpoverty, resulting in higher number of poor people than before. More specifically, Africa’s urban population is expected to triple in size in the next half century, which is putting pressure on scarce resources in cities, exacerbated by capacity, budget and governance bottlenecks. The densely-populated areas with low levels of water and sanitation services pose a serious threat to public health – cholera epidemics have broken out in urban areas in several African countries in recent years.

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How to foster a more inclusive environment for SMEs in PPPs?

Have you ever walked around a megastore, lost in the aisles of choices, only to go home 8904954746_0436040485_b.jpgwithout the one item you set out for? Conversely, have you ever wandered into a much smaller “mom and pop” shop and found everything you need?

Many reasons compel us to support small and medium businesses: tailored knowledge, personalized service, and the satisfaction of contributing directly to the local economy.
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Newsletter September 2017: Cooperation, the Key to Success

We are excited to bring you the “after the Summer holiday special” September edition of the NL4WorldBank newsletter, NieuwsbriefCooperation, the Key to Success which was published the 6th.

The success story highlights the work of Ecofys, a Navigant Company, and Energy partner of the World Bank.
In this edition two important partnerships are featured between the World Bank Group and the Netherlands.  The cooperation on food safety and the new partnership for a water-secure world the GWSP.
The updated schedule for the October Energy mission has been published so please take a look and let us know if you are interested in joining!
And for your convenience we have updated and listed all the NL relevant events for the year, enjoy! 
Those subscribed to the newsletter automatically received it in their inbox. If you did not receive the newsletter, you will find it here . If you would like to automatically receive the next newsletter when it is published, please subscribe here.

Future-Proofing Resilient PPPs

“Hurricane Harvey Has Knocked Out 25 Percent of Gulf Gas Production” – GIZMODO36846391355_b535cade44_k

“This storm has already left hundreds of thousands without power along the Texas coast. And there are reports of significant damage to buildings in Rockport, Texas, near where the storm made landfall Friday night. At a press conference Saturday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said it may be ‘several days before outages can be addressed’ due to continued high winds.” – VOX

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Educating Girls, Ending Child Marriage

Every day, 41,000 girls marry before they are 18 years old. That’s 15 million girls every year. While child marriage can happen to both boys and girls, in most places around the world, the practice mostly affects girls.

Girls like Nafissa* (not her real name), from Niger.

“I stopped (going to) school in order to marry,” says the young teen, “It was because of people’s mentality and their prejudices. I was married during a school break and, before I could return, I became pregnant. After that, I never returned.”

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eC2: Gender and Energy Consultant Ethiopia Energy Program

Deadline: 18-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)India Energy

EEU has adopted a Womens Affairs Policy and Procedures to guide the institutions actions on gender mainstreaming. Informed by the National Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines developed by the MoWCYA, the stated policy objective is to realize preferred gender equality system [sic] and protect human rights of women employees in the institution. It is applicable to all functional units and employees of the EEU. EEU has also recognizes how the energy sector can contribute towards the gender targets outlined in GTP II and has aligned its gender actions accordingly. In addition, Power Africa has recently completed a report on Integrating Gender into EEU: A Mapping and Needs Assessment which is also expected to guide proposed gender actions.
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eC2: FIRM TO SUPPORT BANK DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Deadline: 13-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) Financial Education

 

IFCs Digital Financial Services (DFS) program in Africa aims to increase access to financial services by providing Financial Institutions (FIs) with capacity building, technical assistance and helping them adopt best practices. IFC has entered in agreement with a leading African bank to deliver a Digital Bank Transformation project commencing in September 2017. IFC is seeking to recruit a firm, with demonstrable hands-on experience guiding institutions through a digital transformation to support the banks transition team to adopt agile techniques in product development and to facilitate a start-up culture that reinforces innovation, efficiency and constant change.

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eC2: Lighting Africa – PAYG Market Attractiveness Index

Deadline: 12-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) solar-energy

IFC has supported development of the off-grid sector through a series of programs including Lighting Africa. To help broaden the reach of the PAYG business model, IFC is seeking the services of a firm to develop a Market Attractiveness Index that will provide PAYG companies with a diverse set of variables and market related information to inform their market expansion strategies for numerous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Index will provide the necessary strategic framework for decision-making about market entry into new countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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eC2: Firm consultancy for Strengthening of the PPP framework in Madagascar

Deadline: 19-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The ultimate objective of this activity is to improve the legislative, institutional, financial and technical framework to enable private investment and accelerate the PPP program in Madagascar. By strengthening the PPP framework, the support will put in place the foundation for Madagascar to more effectively develop and realize the benefits of PPPs. This support will include building institutions capacity and increasing political buy-in and ownership by strengthening the political, legal, and regulatory frameworks, managing associated risks, and enhancing transparency and accountability.

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eC2: Global Partnership for Education: Capacity review of country level operating model and Education Sector Investment Case

Deadline: 07-Sep-2017 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)sd-basic-education-in-sudan-the-long-road-to-stability-780x439

GPEs new Financing and Funding Framework (FFF) calls for enhancement of GPEs core funding mechanisms, through a focus on both improved operational efficiency and innovative approaches to mobilizing greater levels of resources from DCPs and development partners.

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