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Sierra Leone News: Land Rights Policy Contributes to Poverty Reduction
July, 31 2017
Sierra Leone - The Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment has developed a comprehensive national land policy to move towards a clearer, more efficient and just land tenure system that shall provide and public demands, stimulate responsible investment and form a basis for sustainable socio-economic development
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FINCA Gears Up for Digital Disbursement Solutions
July, 30 2017
Global - FINCA Microfinance Bank is gearing up to introduce digital disbursement solutions in rural and semi-rural areas in a bid to reduce cost of delivery and increase digital literacy. The bank will use gadgets to get all necessarily details of the client via biometric verifications, thereby reducing the loan-processing time to within 48 hours. Apart from gadgets, the bank’s newly launched mobile wallet, SimSim appears to be the management’s hope to increase foothold in rural localities
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A Long Way to Go Before Zero Hunger Appears Within Reach
July, 30 2017
Global - Hunger can be eliminated in our lifetimes: This was the underlying conviction when United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Zero Hunger Challenge in 2012. The Zero Hunger vision reflects five elements from within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which taken together, can end hunger, eliminate all forms of malnutrition, and build inclusive and sustainable food systems
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Why Does Fintech Matter to the Financial Services
July, 30 2017
Global - With the increasing pace of technological development — driven by the internet, digital and mobile revolutions — the Fintech sector has grown exponentially since 2011 and in 2015 witnessed funding in the range of $16.5 billion to $20 billion (Dh60.5 billion to Dh73.4 billion). The industry broadly serves three segments: Banks & corporates; SMEs and consumers
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China, Egypt And Mexico: Get Ready to Be Fully Financially Included
July, 29 2017
Global - China, Egypt and Mexico have been selected as ‘model countries’ in World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures’ (CPMI) new Financial Inclusion Global Initiative. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization that has been passionate about this issue, access to financial services will be simplified and made more available to the unbanked and underbanked in these three regions
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The Next Big Nifty Bet Can Be Micro Finance
July, 28 2017
Global - Microfinance could well be your next big bet even as investors struggle to chart out their next course of action after the broader index Nifty hit a record high on Wednesday
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The Tech Revolution That’s Changing How We Measure Poverty
July, 27 2017
Global - The world has an ambitious goal to end extreme poverty by 2030. But, without good poverty data, it is impossible to know whether we are making progress, or whether programs and policies are reaching those who are the most in need
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IFC Launches $100 Million Green Kauri Bond in New Zealand
July, 27 2017
Global - International Financial Corp, a member of the World Bank Group, has launched a minimum $100 million Green Kauri bond sale to finance private sector investments addressing climate change in emerging markets. It is the first time a "green bond" has been launched in New Zealand
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Eritrea: Micro Credit Program Improving Lives of Beneficiaries
July, 26 2017
Eritrea - According to Mr. Zeradawit, from the 12.1 million Nakfa disbursed to 1437 customers in the past six months 11.3 million Nakfa has been repaid and that on top of the existing 113 village banks there is a plan to open seven additional village banks
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Philippines: BPI Launches Microfinance Bank to Target Underserved Entrepreneurs
July, 25 2017
Philippines - Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) launched a microfinance bank to target an emerging and underserved sector of the market in the name of financial inclusion. The new microfinance bank, called BPI Direct BanKo, was born out of the merger of BPI Direct and BPI Globe BanKo and is aimed at serving small business loans to self-employed micro-entrepreneurs (SEMEs)
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Mapping the Oil and Gas Industry to the Sustainable Development Goals
July, 24 2017
Global - The report illustrates how the oil and gas industry links to and can contribute to address each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)— by integrating into core business operations and by identifying opportunities for oil and gas companies to collaborate with other stakeholders, and leverage experiences and resources to implement each goal
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Tested by Adversity, Fintech Branch Emerges Stronger (and Better at Risk Management)
July, 24 2017
Global - Branch makes small personal loans to people in sub-Saharan African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria via their Android phones. Applicants download Branch’s app which scours personal data on their phone such as texts, calls, contact lists, and GPS data to determine their creditworthiness. Loans typically range from $2.50 to $500. Usually, borrowers receive 12 month loans with an APR of 12%, Flannery says. Branch holds the loans on its own balance sheet and does not securitize them
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Pakistan Unlikely to Benefit from Emerging Asia Fund
July, 23 2017
Global - Pakistan is unlikely to get any benefit from the ‘IFC Emerging Asia Fund (the Fund)’ being set up by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to provide investors with the opportunity to invest in the fund’s proprietary pipeline of investments in Emerging Asia
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L. Triveno, Urban Development Specialist, World Bank: To Achieve #Housing4All, Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
July, 21 2017
Global - In a world divided over how to deal with such serious problems as terrorism, immigration, free trade, and climate change, governments agree on the urgency of solving what is arguably the biggest problem of all: supplying safe, well-located, and affordable housing for the billions of people who need it
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C. Pinney, President High Meadows Institute: Widening Our View of ESG Investing
July, 21 2017
Global - For some, ESG investing means only divestment: the wholesale exclusion of certain industries and companies from a portfolio based on set of ESG criteria (such as undesired consumer, labor, or environmental practices). Some investors may also assume that ESG investing necessitates accepting diminished returns. However, there are a number of serious flaws with this line of thinking
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G. Ang, OECD: What’s Holding Back Investment and Innovation in Renewable Energy?
July, 21 2017
Global - In order to meet renewable energy deployment goals, policy makers need to strengthen investment conditions, from investment policy to competition, trade and financial market policy. And most importantly, specific policy incentives and climate policies should not be considered in isolation from the broader environment for investment and innovation in renewable energy
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Indonesian SMEs Resorting to Micro Credits
July, 20 2017
Indonesia - More micro, small and medium manufacturers are taking loans through the microcredit program (KUR) in Indonesia, according to a news item of Jakarta Post
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IFC to Invest $5-6 b in Indian Sustainability Projects
July, 19 2017
India - International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector lending and investment arm of World Bank, is considering investing $5-6 billion towards sustainability projects in India. In an exclusive interaction with BusinessLine, Jun Zhang, IFC Country Manager for India, noted that in the previous financial year, which closed for IFC just a few weeks ago (July 1 - June 30), IFC financed $1.96 billion in about 40 projects in India, overachieving its yearly target of around $1.2 billion
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Nigeria: Microfinance Banks Benefit from Fintech Advantage
July, 18 2017
Nigeria - Nigeria’s financial sector will continue to experience growth with technology, especially as Inlaks, a foremost Financial Technology (Fintech) solutions provider has now partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to deploy a single core and agent banking solution for almost 1000 Microfinance Banks (MFBs) in Nigeria
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Green Not the Only Colour for Ethical Bond Investors
July, 17 2017
Global - Ethical investors have begun to discover that green is not the only colour when it comes to buying bonds. The green bond market has boomed in the past decade but now a host of other financial products have begun to emerge, promising to tackle social issues including homelessness, access to education, clean water, crime prevention and helping disadvantaged children
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Rural India Is Recovering from the Cash Ban
July, 17 2017
India - The micro-finance industry is rebounding, real rural incomes are rising and unemployment is falling, according to brokerage Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. and an Indian unit of HSBC Holdings Plc in analysis that contrasts to the distress that’s swept the farming sector
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Zimbabwe: ‘Promote Technology for Financial’
July, 17 2017
Zimbabwe - SADC has appealed to technocrats in the regional bloc to come up with innovative ways of promoting uptake of technology to facilitate mobile financial transactions, products and services at a low cost, while providing necessary consumer protection
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Pakistan: Micro-Credit Outreach Witnesses 22% Growth
July, 17 2017
Pakistan - The government, recognizing need to protect the poor and the vulnerable, has launched several social safety net programmes and one of them was micro-finance which is considered an important player in promoting financial inclusion agenda
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India: Microfinance Industry Expects Biz to Pick Up: MFIN
July, 16 2017
India - "Before demonetisation, microfinance sector was growing at the rate of over 80 per cent and as the impact of demonetisation fades out, we expect the industry to come back on the earlier trajectory," Vishwanathan said
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Bangladesh to Finalise SDGs by August: Officials
July, 15 2017
Bangladesh - A national action plan for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be finalised by August this Year, official said.
"All the ministries have already prepared their action plans. We are now evaluating the plans keeping in mind the SDGs and the Seventh Five Year Plan (SFYP)," Principal Coordinator (SDGs) of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) M Abul Kalam Azad said
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India: Intellecap, Building Businesses for the Next Three Billion Middle-Class Consumers
July, 15 2017
India - The goal is to build businesses that deliver employment, health, energy and financial inclusion for “the other three billion,” as the group refers to low- to middle-income customers in emerging markets. As such consumers gain purchasing power, they are demanding a range of high-value, low-cost services. Nisha Dutt, who joined Intellecap as a manager in 2009, became its CEO in 2015
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Kiva Launches a Fund for Refugees and You Can Help
July, 14 2017
Global - Improving individual lives remains at the core of Kiva’s mission, but success is allowing it to look at ways to make a broader, systemic impact. Kiva recently opened the platform to social entrepreneurs addressing issues such as climate change or gender inequality. Now it is expanding its support of refugees with a new fund
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Zimbabwe: Microfinance Institutions Hit Turbulent Waters
July, 14 2017
Zimbabwe - ZIMBABWE microfinance institutions (MFIs) are in turbulent waters amid indications non-performing loans (NPLs) could soar into the future as corporates and individuals fail to honour their debt obligations due to the liquidity crisis
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Nepal: Leapfrogging Poverty
July, 14 2017
Nepal - The old formula of microfinance, donor-sponsored quick impact programs (QUIPS) focused on visibility of immediate results won’t work anymore. They will need more empathy and compassion, deeper and prolonged, often iterative engagement. Microfinance also does not serve the ‘hardcore’ poor, does not finance entrepreneurial innovations, and many programs charge exorbitant interest and service fees
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Impact Investment to Close the SDG Funding Gap
July, 13 2017
Global - A look at the current state of development funding shows a stark contrast between the price tag to eliminate poverty and protect the planet by 2030, and the actual financial resources that are available
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Government of Afghanistan Signs $482.3 Million New Financing
July, 13 2017
Afghanistan - The Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance on July 12 signed a financing package of $482.3 million in grants with the World Bank to help the country through a difficult phase in its struggle to end poverty. It signals a long-term commitment by both parties to the country’s development and people
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India: Microequity Is a Must for Startups’ Success
July, 11 2017
India - In wake of growing focus of governments to encourage youth to take up entrepreneurship, finance industry veteran Vijay Mahajan has called upon financial institutions to create a new form of financing which could reduce the risk involved in funding startups that have high failure rate.
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Micro Credit: Good or Bad for Uganda’s Poor Population?
July, 11 2017
Uganda - Micro-credit is fast becoming a darling to millions of Uganda’s population following the rollout of new credit windows between financial institutions and telecom firms.
But financial experts are worried that the new products may not create as much impact to the economy because of the high interest rates due to the risky nature of the credits. The experts says the micro-credits are also geared mainly towards consumption and emergences rather than investments
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Impact Investing Market Worth 307 Billion USD by 2020
July, 11 2017
Global - The Impact Investing Market is expected to grow from an estimated value of USD 135 Billion in 2015 to USD 307 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 17.86% from 2015 to 2020. The global market is set to witness a significant growth, due to increase in demand for impact capital, growing ecosystem support and impact readiness
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'KB Cambodia at Tipping Point of Explosive Growth'
July, 11 2017
Cambodia - In 2016, KB Cambodia saw its assets rise 77 percent to $130 million from the previous year. This was the third-highest growth rate among 123 financial firms in Cambodia. Like the economic size of the country, its financial market is relatively small, with the assets of 52 commercial banks and 71 micro finance firms in the country totaling $27.7 billion
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India: ‘Change in Attitude Needed to Make MFIs Profitable’
July, 11 2017
India - Delivering the 8th V. Sitaram Rao Memorial Lecture here on Monday, he said the challenges that needed to be addressed, especially for micro-finance institutions (MFIs) included ushering in an attitudinal change, offering not just micro-credit but make available micro-savings and insurance in the bouquet of offerings by leveraging technology and helping the rural poor become tech-savvy too
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India: Using Fintech for Financial Inclusion
July, 11 2017
India - Over the past few years, efforts to drive financial inclusion in India have delivered mixed results. Access to bank accounts has increased dramatically, driven by a strong policy and regulatory push. But the usage of these accounts, and the uptake of formal financial services beyond savings accounts, has remained exceptionally difficult
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India: Data-Driven Lending to Aid Micro, Small Enterprises
July, 10 2017
India - Data-driven lending by banks and non-banking financial institutions will help bring formal credit to more individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises, giving the sector an edge over moneylenders, according to research by think tank Indian Software Product Industry Round Table (iSpirt).
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Nepal: Monetary Policy Prioritises Hydropower, Agriculture and Tourism
July, 09 2017
Nepal - The monetary policy Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) unveiled Sunday has accorded special priorities to hydropower, agriculture and tourism. The policy has taken these sectors as the main basis of economic development, and defined them as the sectors receiving special priorities
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NongHyup Finance Myanmar Considers Capital Increase for Expansion
July, 07 2017
Myanmar - NongHyup Finance Myanmar is considering raising capital to finance its expansion in the region, said Kim Jong-hee, managing director of the bank. Also, it will invest in equities of banks in Myanmar for strategic partnerships when opportunities arise as the country moves to deregulate laws on foreign bank services in the future
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South Africans Are Starting to Save for a Rainy Day
July, 06 2017
South Africa - Fewer South Africans are taking loans from banks‚ micro-lenders and family‚ despite increasing financial pressures. This is according to the latest Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor - conducted yearly with 1‚000 people who bank with various institutions around the country
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Cambodia: Microlenders Refuse to Apply Prescribed VAT
July, 06 2017
Cambodia - The industry body representing the Kingdom’s myriad microfinance institutions (MFIs) threw down the gauntlet yesterday, announcing that its members had categorically rejected a government directive that orders them to charge a value-added tax (VAT) on financial services fees and would not apply it
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Ghana: Farmers Cry for Micro-Credit Facility
July, 05 2017
Ghana - Farmers at Dorbor community and its environs in the Banda District of the Brong-Ahafo Region have appealed for the establishment of a micro-finance company in the area
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Pakistan: Telenor Bank CEO Resigns
July, 05 2017
Pakistan - Telenor Bank announced that CEO of the bank Ali Riaz Chaudhry has resigned from his post. Ali was serving the bank as CEO for the past one year.
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Bangladesh: Encouraging Growth of Solar Home System
July, 04 2017
Bangladesh - To be able to facilitate more off-grid population, the authorities will have to interact with all stakeholders to strike a fine balance between import and local production of solar panels and other necessary kits
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How Artificial Intelligence Could Democratize Financial Services in Asia
July, 03 2017
Global - Microfinance has been widely recognized as an important strategy for lifting people out of poverty. Rather than throwing money at people’s problems, so to speak, you give them a loan so they can build a business, generate income, create stability for their families. But the solution doesn’t end there.
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Nigeria: Microfinance Banks Loans to MSMEs Hit N214b - CBN
July, 01 2017
Nigeria - The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday said that total credit granted by Microfinance banks to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises has hit N214.32 billion as at December 31, 2016.
The Director of Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Tokunbo Martins, made this known at the 2nd Annual Professional Training organised for Lagos State Microfinance banks operators
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