The Government of India has appointed SBI Ventures (formerly SBICAP Ventures) as the fund manager for the ₹20,000 crore Maritime Investment Fund (MIF), a major initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s maritime infrastructure and expanding its blue economy. The fund is part of a broader ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund designed to support long-term investment… [Read More]

Five Vietnamese startups participating in the “Viet Nam – Japan Incubation Program” signed Memoranda of Understanding and contracts with Japanese partners during Demo Day 2026 in Ha Noi. The event was co-hosted by the Viet Nam National Innovation Center (NIC), the Embassy of Japan, and UNDP, marking a milestone in cross-border collaboration. These startups were… [Read More]

A new £4 million funding award has been granted to support cutting-edge cardiovascular research aimed at improving the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease. The investment has been provided by the Wellcome Trust and will support advanced scientific work led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with research partners. (tfn.scot) The project focuses… [Read More]

Digital technology has become strategic infrastructure in Africa, shaping state capacity, business competitiveness, investment attractiveness, and service quality. Without reliable digital identities, interoperable payments, secure registries, and accessible services, technological transformation remains fragmented, even as artificial intelligence advances globally. The World Bank has set the goal of universal digital enablement by 2030, yet only 38%… [Read More]

WWF Australia highlights the urgent need to scale innovative finance mechanisms to support nature-based solutions (NbS) across the Asia Pacific region, where climate vulnerability and biodiversity loss are intensifying. The initiative focuses on bridging the significant global funding gap required to protect, restore, and sustainably manage ecosystems that support both people and nature. Nature-based solutions… [Read More]

Indian startup funding rebounded strongly this past week, with 20 startups raising a total of $292.52 million — an 85% jump from the $158.8 million raised by 24 startups the previous week. The surge was driven largely by Rapido’s $240 million mega round, backed by Prosus, which underscored investor confidence in India’s fast-growing digital mobility… [Read More]

Mouro Capital has closed $400 million for its third fund, with full backing from long-term partner Banco Santander. This milestone brings the fintech-focused venture firm’s total investment commitments to over $1 billion for the first time. Founded in 2015 and led by Manuel Silva Martínez and Christopher Gottschalk, Mouro invests in companies from seed to… [Read More]

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has announced a commitment of up to US$100 million to invest in Africa-focused technology fund managers, marking a significant step in mobilizing institutional capital for the continent’s digital economy. With Africa’s digital economy projected to contribute over US$700 billion to GDP by 2050, the initiative aims to address the persistent gap… [Read More]

Tomorrow.io, a Boston-based weather intelligence company, has secured an additional $35 million in funding, bringing its Series F round to $210 million. The new capital came from existing investors Pitango and Harel Insurance, joining private equity firms Stonecourt Capital and HarbourVest Partners, who led the round earlier this year. The funding will accelerate the development… [Read More]

The Government of the United Kingdom has announced an additional £3.4 million contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Moldova to sustain gender-based violence prevention and response services for Ukrainian refugees and vulnerable women and girls. This new funding builds on support provided since 2022, when the war in Ukraine heightened protection risks… [Read More]

On the night of 15 December, strong winds struck Libreville, Gabon, causing widespread damage to homes and belongings in neighborhoods such as PK 9, PK 10, and PK 11. Gabonese Red Cross volunteers were mobilized within hours to assess the situation and provide immediate psychosocial support to affected families. Roofs were torn off, houses left… [Read More]

The World Bank has issued a new catastrophe bond providing Jamaica with USD 200 million in hurricane insurance coverage, replacing the previous USD 150 million bond that paid out after Hurricane Melissa in October 2025. The transaction was oversubscribed, reflecting strong investor demand, and builds on earlier World Bank cat bonds issued in 2021 and… [Read More]

Sargassum, a seaweed that arrives in massive quantities on Caribbean shores each year, represents a paradox. Despite being abundant and free to collect, it has not developed into a functioning industry. The challenge lies not in the resource itself but in the absence of public goods such as reliable information, quality standards, regulatory frameworks, and… [Read More]

Insufficient investment in education is already undermining productivity and economic growth, with long‑term consequences for fiscal stability. Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean face particular challenges, as most new entrants to the labor market have limited education. Only 19% of young people finish secondary school with minimum skills in mathematics, and among low‑income youth… [Read More]

UBS Optimus Foundation, alongside co-funders, has committed approximately $29 million to Chancen International’s Future of Work Fund, a blended finance initiative designed to expand access to higher education and skills training for young people in Africa. The funding will support the scaling of an Income Share Agreement (ISA) model across Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa,… [Read More]

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has launched a new initiative called X-Labs, a $1.5 billion program designed to fund independent, milestone-driven research teams working outside traditional academic and industrial structures. The initiative aims to accelerate breakthrough scientific and technological innovation by supporting agile groups of researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs focused on solving high-priority national… [Read More]

The Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund has pledged more than £30,000 in its latest quarterly funding round to support a wide range of local charities, sports clubs, and community organisations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The funding is part of the Trust Fund’s ongoing effort to support grassroots projects within a 10-mile radius of the… [Read More]

Citigroup Inc. and HPS Investment Partners, a part of BlackRock, have announced a €15 billion Private Capital Program aimed at expanding direct lending across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. The initiative is designed to provide flexible financing solutions for corporate and private equity–backed borrowers, particularly those operating in Continental Europe, the United… [Read More]

Hims & Hers Health, Inc., a U.S.-based digital healthcare platform, has announced a proposed offering of convertible senior notes aimed at supporting its international expansion strategy and accelerating investment in its artificial intelligence–driven healthcare platform. The move reflects the company’s ongoing effort to scale its consumer-first telehealth services across multiple global markets while strengthening its… [Read More]

In recent decades, Salvapan, a neighborhood in Belmopan, Belize, has become home to many migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. With a population of about 3,000 residents, nearly a quarter of whom are migrants, the growing demand for water has placed pressure on limited infrastructure. This challenge began to be addressed through the Water… [Read More]

Gradiant, a Boston-based industrial water technology company, has raised a Series E funding round that values the company at $2 billion. The investment marks a major milestone for the firm as it accelerates expansion across AI infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, and large-scale industrial water systems. The funding round was led by Safar Partners and Hostplus Superannuation… [Read More]

Japan has launched a new international funding call through the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) aimed at advancing artificial intelligence applications in scientific research. The programme is designed to encourage global collaboration between researchers and institutions, supporting projects that develop new AI tools and methods for solving complex scientific problems across disciplines. The initiative… [Read More]

Dr. Amadou Bocoum, CARE Country Director in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, issued a statement on the newly declared Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, which the World Health Organization has classified as a public health emergency of international concern. He emphasized that thousands of women and families already struggling with hunger, displacement,… [Read More]