On December 16, 2025, the Mastercard Foundation-Caribou Research Partnership published a new report entitled Building the Agriinfluencer Network.”The Agriinfluencer Network (AiN) is a pan-African community of 24 young agricultural leaders across 11 African countries using social media to share knowledge, inspire peers, and amplify the visibility of agriculture across the continent,” notes the report. Members…(Read more)
Category: News
In Memoriam: Katherine Graham
We were saddened by the sudden passing of our dear friend and colleague, Katherine Graham, earlier this month. She will be deeply missed and remembered by many. A decorated Professor of Public Policy at Carleton University in Ottawa, she expertly advised our CIDA-funded projects on local governance in Ghana and Vietnam in the early and…(Read more)
Continued Growth of Canadian Impact Investment
In its new State of the Sector report, the Canada Forum on Impact Investment in Development found that Canadian impact investors—banks, credit unions, funds, foundations and NGOs—managed CAD 4.6 billion in assets in emerging and developing economies. This capital was placed in financial services, agriculture, clean energy and consumer services, with 46% going to Latin…(Read more)
Green Bonds Hit USD 1 Trillion
On December 25, 2025, Ishika Mookerjee reported for Bloomberg that global issuances of green bonds and loans totaled USD 1 trillion so far this year, hitting a new record. In 2025, Asia led the way. “Asia-Pacific companies and government-linked issuers raised $261 billion from green debt, up about 20% from a year earlier, with China…(Read more)
Improving Job Quality in the Services Sector
Harvard economist Dani Rodrik’s latest book, Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World, argues that improving the quality of jobs in the services sector should be a priority for developing and advanced economies alike. As one reviewer wrote: “Rodrik is most convincing when he identifies a misguided fixation on manufacturing jobs as a costly mistake, in…(Read more)
Book Launch: Lessons in Philanthropy Honouring an Ottawa Champion
On September 15, 2025, at the Ottawa Art Gallery, a new book was launched: Lessons in Philanthropy, a compilation of stories and lessons in doing community-based philanthropy effectively, with purpose and humanity. The book is a tribute to the legacy of Barb McInnes, longtime president of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, who passed away in…(Read more)
What Should Canada Do to Support Bangladesh?
Canada was one of the first countries to recognize the newly independent Bangladesh in 1971. Writing on the McLeod Group site, Canadian scholar-practitioners Dr. Lilly Nicholls and Dr. Syed Sajjadur Rahman discuss policy options for Canada to support Bangladesh as the South Asian country of 170 million navigates a complex process of national, political and…(Read more)
Equinor Backs Ørsted on Wind Power
On September 1, 2025, Equinor, the Norwegian multinational energy company, invested nearly USD 1 billion in Ørsted, the Danish wind energy firm. The Equinor investment is a vote of confidence in Ørsted which has faced challenges from the opposition of the US administration to renewable energy. The injection of new capital will enable Ørsted to…(Read more)
Redefining Development in a Disordered World: G78’s 2025 Policy Conference
The Group of 78 is a Canadian non-profit working for peace, climate action and social justice through dialogue and advocacy for progressive Canadian foreign policy and renewed multilateralism. To be held on October 10, 2025 at the University of Ottawa, the theme of G78’s 2025 annual policy conference is Redefining Development in a Disordered World,…(Read more)
Relaunching Development Financing from Seville
In July 2025, in the wake of major aid cuts by the United States and Europe, the United Nations hosted the fourth conference on financing for development in Seville, Spain. The meeting produced an outcome document, the Seville Commitment, that called for a pause on the debt of developing countries, a debt swap hub, a…(Read more)