Development Innovation Ventures Newsletter
July 2022
 A community member presents her ideas for public projects in Kajevuba, Rwanda. © Perry Bindelglass for Spark Microgrants
Spark Microgrants to Test the Addition of Facilitation Coaching to Community-Led Development Program in Rwanda
Spark Microgrants won a Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) Evidence generation grant to evaluate the effectiveness of its Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) on a community-driven development (CDD) program in Rwanda. The FCAP is designed to increase the success of CDD by training and coaching elected local government officials to better facilitate community meetings and providing an $8,000 grant to establish public projects selected by community members. The study results will inform how the Government of Rwanda and the World Bank replicate the Spark Microgrants model in 12,000 villages across Rwanda. Read more.
The University of Florida’s MotoMeds Expands From Haiti to Ghana
DIV is pleased to announce that the University of Florida’s MotoMeds has won a DIV Stage 1 grant to pilot an expansion of its pediatric nighttime telemedicine and medication delivery service to Accra, Ghana. MotoMeds provides effective, low-cost treatments to young children in need of after-hours healthcare, and free access to an after hours medical telephone line to triage cases, recommend treatment, and—when necessary—order medicine and a household assessment delivered quickly by motorcycles. Since 2019, Motomeds has been serving a population of nearly 18,000 children in 50 rural neighborhoods in Haiti. With DIV support, the University of Florida will bring MotoMeds to Ghana in partnership with the Ghanaian National Ambulance Service. Read more.
Search the DIV Portfolio!
DIV has a new, searchable portfolio! Search and filter by keyword, funding stage, sector, and country to learn about DIV’s 256 grants. Happy searching!
On June 8, 2022, USAID hosted a Reverse Industry Day with Unlock Aid. During the event, Unlock Aid members shared more about their work and the barriers they have faced while working with USAID. The presentation featured DIV grantees Earth Enable, Equalize Health (formerly D-Rev), and One Acre Fund. Details about the event and recording of the webinar are available here.
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DIV Innovator Spotlight
Shamba ShapeUp Farm Makeover Show Produces First Uganda Episodes
DIV Stage 2 grantee Mediae Group Ltd’s popular edutainment show that helps farmers in Kenya improve food production has expanded to Uganda. The first eight highly entertaining episodes are available now on YouTube in Luganda and English. The episodes will air in both languages on three channels in Uganda. Watch now.
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Maisha Meds Digital Platform Reaches 1,000 Pharmacies in Six Countries Across Sub-Saharan Africa
DIV Stage 2 grantee Maisha Meds was founded in 2017 to provide business management software and reimbursement programs for pharmacies, drug shops, and clinics, while providing patient support via its point-of-sale pharmacy app. With DIV support, Maisha Meds has been expanding their platform across pharmacies and clinics in East Africa, as well as conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the platform’s use to deliver targeted reimbursements to motivate proper malaria diagnosis and treatment. By 2019, it had reached 300 pharmacies in East Africa. The firm now works across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Zambia where it supports over four million patient encounters annually across its markets with its suite of software products. Read more.
Youth Impact RCT Finds Positive Outcomes From Low Tech Learning Strategies Used During Pandemic School Closures
In "Experimental Evidence on Learning Using Low-Tech When School is Out," Youth Impact (formerly Young 1ove) shares the results of its large-scale RCT to test two low-technology interventions—text messages and phone calls—to help parents support their out-of-school children in Botswana. Together, the cost-effective interventions show robust learning improvement and outcomes. These findings have immediate policy relevance and long-run implications for the role of technology and parental engagement to support education during school disruptions. In a separate study, Youth Impact received a DIV Stage 2 award to test variations of Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), an in-school program in Botswana that helped to inform the RCT, and to partner with the Government of Botswana to scale TaRL to reach millions of school children nationwide. Read more.
Yale University and the Institute for Fiscal Studies Receive an Additional $1.4 Million Award to Increase the Evaluation Scope and Size of the Lively Minds Program
In May 2022, Yale University’s research partner, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), received £1.1 million ($1.4 million) in follow-on funding to significantly increase the sample size and scope of its DIV-supported Lively Minds study and involve researchers from the United Kingdom-based London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). This additional award to IFS is funded through the Applied Global Health Research Board, supported by the United Kingdom's Medical Research Council and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and will increase the quality and strength of the research and provide additional insights into what specific portions of Lively Minds’ program are having the most impact. Read more.
BRAC University Wins $250k From The Agency Fund to Expand Evidence on a Media Experiment to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh
BRAC University researchers will administer more rounds of data collection to better understand the timing of the effects of two edutainment campaigns that draw from cognitive behavioral therapy to target abusive behavior perpetrated by men. One campaign focuses on norms and aims to influence attitudes about gender, while the other focuses on resilience that aims to improve anger management and nonviolent coping skills. In 2021, DIV awarded BRAC University a Stage 2 grant to conduct RCTs to test the effectiveness of the campaigns. Read more.
Ampersand Partners With TotalEnergies to Open E-Moto Battery Swap Stations in Kenya
DIV Stage 2 grantee Ampersand, an electric motorcycle (e-moto) and transport energy solution based in Rwanda, is entering a second market in East Africa. In partnership with French energy company TotalEnergies, Ampersand has recently announced its expansion into Kenya. Three initial TotalEnergies stations in Nairobi will host Ampersand-constructed and managed battery swapping facilities for its e-motos. This expanding network of “swap” stations will boost Kenya’s fast growing e-mobility sector, and power Ampersand’s market-leading electric motorbikes on Kenyan roads. Read more.
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Funding Opportunities
SIMA Funds Accepting Applications for $84 Million Energy Access Relief Fund (EARF)
The Fund aims to support off-grid solar enterprises and protect energy access for more than 20 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. SIMA, the Fund Manager of EARF, will undertake the task of processing hundreds of applications and provide relief loans to institutions that are facing liquidity constraints caused by disruptions related to COVID-19. SIMA Funds seeks potential borrowers and interested companies. Learn more.
The Agency Fund Issues Three New Calls for Proposals by August 14
The Agency Fund’s current calls for proposals include its quarterly Open Call for any research and innovation idea, Youth Economic Agency, and Mobility & Migration. All three calls close on August 14, 2022. Learn more.
To learn more about DIV’s portfolio and get the latest news from DIV and its grantees, visit divportal.usaid.gov.
DIV is accepting applications! Please visit www.usaid.gov/div to learn more and apply.
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