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S. Denning, Contributor, Forbes: Why the World Is Getting Better and Why Hardly Anyone Knows It
November, 30 2017
Global - In a powerful study entitled “The short history of global living conditions and why it matters that we know it” by Max Roser, an economist at the University of Oxford and the founder of Our World in Data, we learn that on virtually all of the key dimensions of human material well-being—poverty, literacy, health, freedom, and education—the world is an extraordinarily better place than it was just a couple of centuries ago
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Nigeria: Ibile Microfinance Bank Collaborates with Ministry of Wealth Creation
November, 29 2017
Nigeria - Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos State are to receive a major lift as the Lagos State owned-IBILE Microfinance Bank is collaborating with the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation & Employment in providing soft loans to operators and artisans within the MSMEs sector
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IDB Invest Finances Women-owned MSMEs in Brazil Together with Itaú Unibanco
November, 28 2017
Brazil - IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, announced today the closing and disbursement of a $100 million loan to the Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco. This project supports micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Brazil that are majority-owned by women seeking to increase the financing available in this market segment.
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China's Micro-lending Mess
November, 28 2017
China - In their bid to reduce risk, China's financial regulators are cracking down on a promising business: online micro-lending. Although the industry has some serious problems, killing it off would be a big mistake
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Nigeria: Group Restates Commitment to SMEs Growth, Poverty Reduction
November, 28 2017
Nigeria - With a vision to establish Nigeria as a global economic force through empowerment and wealth creation, Stanford Seed Transformation Network Nigeria (SSTN) has restated its commitment to empower more start-ups to build strong processes and sound governance principles to ensure poverty in the country is tackled to its barest minimum
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$23bn in Rooftop Solar Potential for India
November, 28 2017
India - Bloomberg New Energy Finance has produced a new report which indicates the Indian government will need to invest around $23bn over the next five years if it is to achieve its target of 40 GW in rooftop solar photovoltaics
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Renewable Investment Could Reach $11T by 2040
November, 28 2017
Global - Investments in off-grid solar and energy storage could hit $23 billion a year by 2025, provided that countries used differentiated tariffs, clear technical and safety standards, and targeted financial incentives while backing new business models for community-based solar and finance solutions
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Senegal: Using Micro Credit to Help Business Owners in Saint -Louis
November, 27 2017
Senegal - Getting a credit to begin the activity is often difficult or impossible for many Africans. Through modes of alternative financing, some shops owners, some start-ups and companies have been able to see the light of the day and it has also helped in reducing unemployment and poverty for many Africans
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High Water Women to Hold Fifth Symposium on Impact Investing
November, 27 2017
Global - High Water Women (HWW), the not-for-profit volunteer organization with a focus on empowering women and youth, is holding its fifth annual Symposium on Impact Investing in New York at the City of New York Graduate Center, this Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017
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Blockchain Start-Up Wala, to Solve Financial Exclusion Affecting 3.5bn People
November, 27 2017
Global - Wala, a blockchain-powered financial services platform for the unbanked and underbanked, has gained significant traction over the past 2 months including an equity investment from Newtown Partners, a banking partnership, a payments partnership, the launch of the Wala Financial Platform, an impressive list of advisors and the launch of the Dala token sale
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MythBusters: Further Proof that Impact Investments Reap Healthy Returns
November, 26 2017
Global - The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) just came out with a report reviewing available research on the financial performance of impact investments. Its conclusion: Across private market strategies, such as private equity, fixed income and real assets, the distribution of impact investing fund returns is similar to results for conventional markets
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Kenya: Who Are Kenya's Financially Excluded?
November, 20 2017
Kenya - The recent 2017 Finscope Tanzania report shows that while mobile money use in Tanzania continues to grow, the percentage of financially excluded adults has risen in parallel -- from 27 percent in 2013 to 28 percent in 2017
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Qatar Implements International Development Goals
November, 20 2017
Qatar - The State of Qatar attaches great importance to the implementation of the international development goals, and stressed in this context the alignment of national priorities with the sustainable development agenda 2030, said Ambassador Tariq bin Ali Faraj Al Ansari, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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Green Finance Experts Roll Out New Plan
November, 18 2017
Global - On the sidelines of the COP23 climate summit in Bonn, Germany, capital market leaders from around the world gathered to share ideas for promoting green finance in alignment with the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals
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Impact Investing Can Be Profitable, New Report Says
November, 17 2017
Global - Impact investing is capturing the attention of investors across the world. Last year, 209 leading impact investors committed $22 billion to nearly 8,000 impact investments, and planned to increase capital invested this year by 17% and the number of investments by 20%
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How Fintech Startups Are Assisting MSMEs, the Biggest Contributors to the Indian Economy
November, 17 2017
India - While contributing eight percent to the nation’s total GDP, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also provide for 40 percent of the total export. Producing over 10,000 different types of products, these small-scale ventures are also responsible for 45 percent of the entire manufacturing output. Besides, the truest contribution of the MSMEs could not be comprised in these numbers
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Impact Investing Can Be Profitable, New Report Says
November, 17 2017
Global - Impact investing is capturing the attention of investors across the world. Last year, 209 leading impact investors committed $22 billion to nearly 8,000 impact investments, and planned to increase capital invested this year by 17% and the number of investments by 20%
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African SMEs Face $136bn Financing Gap Annually—IFC
November, 16 2017
Global - The International Finance Corporation, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has estimated that in Africa, small and medium enterprises, SMEs, face a financing gap of over $136 billion annually
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‘Poverty Alleviation Efforts Making Positive Impact in Pakistan’
November, 16 2017
Pakistan - It was said that under Programme for Poverty Reduction, more than 4,000 community institutions (43% women representation) have been formed and strengthened; 5,049 individuals (48% women) have received productive assets; while more than 11,000 individuals (42% women) have undertaken livelihood trainings. As many as 753 infrastructure schemes consisting of clean drinking water, link roads, flood protection works, irrigation and renewable energy projects have also been completed
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Impact Investing Taking Root in Asia
November, 15 2017
Global - In a bid to help address challenging global circumstances, a growing number of Asia’s high net worth (HNWI) and ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) are looking to increase their portfolio allocation to impact investing
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Australia: Government Launches Emerging Market Impact Investment Fund
November, 15 2017
Australia - A new impact investment fund aimed at leveraging private investment in small and medium enterprise in the Asia-Pacific region has been launched by the Australian Government.
The $40 billion emerging markets impact investment fund will support SME's that generate positive social and development outcomes for poor communities in the Asia-Pacific to promote economic growth and reduce poverty.
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Indonesia: IFC Proposes to Provide Up to $50m Debt to Microfinance Institution MBK
November, 15 2017
Indonesia - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed to provide financing of up to $50 million to Indonesia-based microfinance institution PT Mitra Bisnis Keluarga Ventura (MBK), a disclosure said.
The funding is expected to support the growth of the company’s microfinance portfolio, mainly targeting underserved rural women borrowers.
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M-Pesa Users Up 50% in Three Markets – Vodacom
November, 14 2017
Global - Vodacom reported rapid growth in its m-pesa mobile money userbase across every market the company operates the service in, as it prepares to export Safaricom’s wildly successful model to new countries
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Bosnia and Herzegovina: EBRD Supports Bosnian Private Businesses
November, 14 2017
Bosnia and Herzegovina - The EBRD is providing Mikrofin, the largest non-bank microfinance institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a €4 million loan for on-lending to local private businesses.
Mikrofin currently has a network of 75 branches throughout the country and working with the lender will allow the EBRD to widen and deepen its outreach to extend finance where it is often needed most
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Rwanda: New Initiative Seeks to Ease SME Access to Finance
November, 13 2017
Rwanda - La Finance s’Engage Rwanda will seek to improve access to funding by small businesses, according to the firm’s officials. In 2016, a similar initiative raised about $2 billion from financial institutions to support SMEs in West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast
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Unknown Editor: Nigeria - How to Reposition Housing Sector for Economic Growth
November, 13 2017
Nigeria - Housing policy must seek to work for all Nigerians – the rich, the poor, civil servants, small business people, artisans, informal sector workers and entrepreneurs, young graduates, young people with limited formal education, banks, construction companies for it to boost construction activities and make a significant contribution to economic development
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China: Microlending Risks Grow
November, 12 2017
China - China’s microlending sector has grown explosively in the past year — and so have the risks.
The industry targets borrowers like students and small businesses traditionally excluded from the financial system
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Nigeria: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
November, 10 2017
Nigeria - What’s more, in the developing world women are 20 percent less likely than men to have a bank account, being frequently turned away by financial institutes simply because of their gender—and the rate is much higher for widows and single mothers. Getting credit is also extremely difficult
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Digital Finance Is ‘Crucial’ for SDGs
November, 10 2017
Global - There is no better time than now for Asia to move forward with digital technology to improve financial inclusion and eradicate poverty in the region, said experts at a recent conference in Manila
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Haiti: It's Time to Rethink How We View Microfinance Institutions
November, 10 2017
Haiti - The core competency of microfinance institutions isn’t finance — it’s distribution. Their central infrastructure isn’t bank branches, but rather networked group meetings. And the return on investment from their loans isn’t the interest; it’s the added value of organizing vulnerable populations in rural areas of low-income countries into a platform
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Zimbabwe: Mobile Money Services Clock $11bn in 9 Months
November, 09 2017
Zimbabwe - Mobile financial services have overtaken traditional methods of transacting with $11 billion worth of transactions being recorded through innovative digital platforms alone between January and September this year, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
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J. Hale, Ph.D., CFA: Investing for Sustainability and Impact
November, 09 2017
Global - The idea of investing for sustainability and impact resonates with many investors. In a recent global investor survey of more than 22,000 investors, Schroders found that sustainable investors see positive impact and financial returns going "hand-in-hand.
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India: Microfinance Back from Jaws of Death
November, 08 2017
India - It has been a year since demonetisation was announced and this gives us an opportunity to analyse its impact on our sector. The intended consequences were to strike at the root of the parallel black economy, eliminate corruption and make the country go digital in financial transactions
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The Role of Emerging Markets in Global Green Bond Issuance
November, 07 2017
Global - Green bond issuance this year has surpassed 2016 totals and appears to show no signs of slowing. Year-to-date issuance in 2017 totalled $90.1 billion, as of October 18, versus $81.6 billion in 2016, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative (“CBI”). In fact, September was the busiest month this year with nearly $15 billion issued
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Finance Expert Sharone Perlstein about the Role of Microfinancing in the Growth of New Businesses
November, 07 2017
Global - On a truly global level, but especially in developing regions, Microfinance is allowing creative people with limited financial means of their own to turn their business ideas into living realities. Microfinancing is therefore providing an excellent solution to the all-too-well-known problem of how someone who has an excellent idea for a business but lacks funding can act on that idea.
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India: One Year of Demonetisation - Microfinance Industry Recovering Slowly
November, 07 2017
India - MD of Arohan Manoj Nambiar said demonetisation severely affected poor women as they were unable to repay in old currencies. With the completion of one year of demonetisation, leading players of the microfinance industry (MFI) were of the view that things were recovering slowly and delinquency levels were still on the higher side
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Uganda: Financial Inclusion Optimism
November, 07 2017
Uganda - Uganda’s central bank in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has unveiled a five-year financial inclusion strategy to enable more individuals and business access affordable financial products and services.
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Nigeria: FINCA MfB Unveils Loans to Enhance Access to Quality Education
November, 07 2017
Nigeria - FINCA Microfinance Bank Nigeria Limited and Opportunity International Edufinance (OIE) have partnered to expand access to education loans in South-East Nigeria.
The partnership, through OIE’s Technical Assistance Facility (ETAF), already has led to the introduction of School Fees Loan product for parents of students in private sector education.
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IFC and Opportunity Bank Support Farmers, Micro and Small Enterprises in Serbia
November, 06 2017
Serbia - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a RSD 775 million (approximately €6.5 million equivalent) loan to Opportunity Bank Serbia (OBS) to help finance farmers, and micro and small enterprises (MSEs), so they can grow their businesses and generate new jobs. IFC is also providing advisory services to OBS on developing a digitization strategy
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Mastercard Partners with FSD Uganda to Strengthen Financial Inclusion
November, 03 2017
Uganda - The partnership, announced during Financial Inclusion Week, will allow Mastercard, including the Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion, and FSD Uganda to focus on achieving their target in the key sectors of education, agriculture, trade and health by creating and rolling out secure and simple digital payments solutions
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New, Better and More Affordable Digital Financial Services Needed to Bridge the Digital Gap
November, 02 2017
Global - The scale, depth and speed of the digital transformation in the economic sector is astounding in almost any activity. Arguably, industries that rely most heavily on information flows and have less regulatory barriers to entry experience the challenge, or opportunity, of digitalisation at earlier stages. Nevertheless, eventually all sectors will be impacted by the irruption of digital technologies
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Nigeria: CBN Targets 80% Financial Inclusion by 2020
November, 02 2017
Nigeria - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) assured Nigerians wednesday that it would work aggressively towards increasing financial inclusion rate to 80 per cent, by cutting down the number of people excluded from the financial system to 20 per cent in the next three years (2020)
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Frontier Markets in Asia Pacific to Lead Future Growth
November, 01 2017
Global - Future growth in wealth markets will be driven by strong performances in the Asia Pacific, with frontier markets within the region set to outperform mature and emerging markets, according to a report by GlobalData
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Fostering Financial Inclusion in Pakistan
November, 01 2017
Pakistan - The government of Pakistan introduced its National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) in 2015 to expedite its efforts towards extending financial access to at least 50 percent of its adult population by 2020. The strategy primarily focuses on four key areas: promoting digital transaction accounts and reaching scale through bulk payments, expanding and diversifying access points, improving capacity of financial service providers, and increasing levels of financial awareness and capability
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Tanzania: Microfinance Policy, Law Is Timely
November, 01 2017
Tanzania - The government’s decision to launch the Microfinance Policy, 2017 has come at the right time. The policy, together with the planned Microfinance Law, will give the country the required legal framework to effectively regulate the subsector
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Indonesia Tops Up Islamic Microfinance Sector with Ten New Institutions
November, 01 2017
Indonesia - Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, in its intention to improve the financial inclusion of the large number of unbanked citizens, and to improve the financial ecosystems in communities and to reduce the exposure of small business owners or even entire villages to informal lending structures, is expanding the network of official microfinance institutions across the country
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