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Sep 2017
Nigeria: Expert Advocates Raise in Capital Requirements for Microfinance Banks
September, 30 2017
Nigeria - The Chairman of Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), Miss Modupe Ladipo, has advised Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to raise capital requirements for microfinance banks to drive financial inclusion ...
Rwanda: New Initiatives to Drive Digital Literacy and Use of Tech Services
September, 30 2017
Rwanda - Fresh initiatives aimed at extending ICT solutions to rural areas were launched yesterday in Tumba Sector, Rulindo District. The move is expected to help accelerate service delivery ...
Australia: Linking Renewables to Economic Growth - The Case for Climate-Centered SDGs
September, 29 2017
Australia - Presenting research findings during a panel session on how we can all profit from the low carbon transition, Argyriou highlighted findings from Southeast Asia and the Pacific that demonstrate the decoupling of economic growth and emissions growth is both achievable and beneficial ...
Visualizing The True Impact Of The Sustainable Development Goals - And understanding the damage we’ll do if we give up on them
September, 29 2017
Global - In September 2015, nearly 200 world leaders agreed to work toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a set of universal quality of life targets that, if met, could eradicate extreme poverty and racial injustice and greatly reduce the impact from climate change by 2030 ...
H. Avery, Journalist, Euromoney Magazine: Where’s the Refugee Impact Fund?
September, 29 2017
Global - To solve the world’s problems will take coordination between NGOs, governments and the private sector – banks should not shy away ...
Two Nigerian Micro Finance Banks Certified Globally
September, 29 2017
Nigeria - Operations of microfinance banks in Nigeria received a boost as two microfinance institutions, Grooming Centre and Fortis Microfinance bank were given the Smart Certification for client protection ...
Betting on Women in Southeast Asia, Regenerative Agriculture, Beyond Impact Apologetics
September, 29 2017
Southeast Asia - Increasing capital flows to women in business in Southeast Asia. Only about 4% of the roughly $140 billion in impact investing assets globally makes it to Southeast Asia. And only a fraction of that goes to the region’s women entrepreneurs, who are underrepresented in all stages of business. ...
Australia’s Bet on Women entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia
September, 29 2017
Southeast Asia - Directing investments to women entrepreneurs may seem like a no-brainer, at least for half of our species. But growing those investments presents challenges, particularly in conservative, even patriarchal, countries in Southeast Asia, where many women are left out of business opportunities ...
Europe Lagging in Sustainable Investment
September, 28 2017
Global - Investors in Europe are falling behind the global average when it comes to sustainable investing, according to a survey from Schroders ...
USA: Renowned Economists Launch Global Poverty Research Lab
September, 28 2017
USA - Northwestern committed to making the University a global center for international development. Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute has launched the Global Poverty Research Lab, a collaborative research center that uses empirical evidence to address the challenges of overcoming poverty and to improve well-being in the developing world ...
ADB and AIIB Expand Financing for India’s Green Energy Corridors
September, 28 2017
Global - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has enlarged its support of clean energy transmission projects in India by obtaining co-financing from multilateral development bank Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) ...
Nigeria: Expert Wants Micro-Finance Banks Regulated
September, 28 2017
Nigeria - Dr Ja’afar Sa’ad, a political economist, on Thursday advocated for the re-establishment of an autonomous body to license, supervise and regulate community/micro finance banks in Nigeria for maximum output ...
USA: Symbiotics Partners with TriLinc Advisors Ahead of SOCAP17
September, 28 2017
USA - Symbiotics partners with TriLinc Advisors to further increase the financing of small and medium size enterprises in developing economies. ...
Financial Inclusion from a Consumer Perspective
September, 27 2017
Global - Around the world today, financial service providers, technology entrepreneurs and policy makers are engaged in building a financial system that reaches out to previously excluded people, such as lower income people, very small businesses, rural dwellers, and women. Although this work is carried out in the name of the consumer, all too often, scant attention is paid to the real needs and desires consumers and very small enterprise owners have ...
The Real Impact of Impact Investing
September, 27 2017
Global - One recent Bank of America press release states that three-quarters of investors want to work with an advisor who offers investment strategies that result in competitive returns and positive impact. An even higher percentage of millennials want to make a connection between financial and societal outcomes — as high as 86 percent, according to a recent Morgan Stanley analysis. But can investors really have a positive impact with their investment dollars while also maximizing financial returns? This is no small matter. It is more than a trillion-dollar opportunity — consider that Bank of America alone has a client base representing over $2 trillion in assets ...
EBRD Launches Women in Business Programme in Tajikistan
September, 27 2017
Tajikistan - Under the programme, the EBRD will seek to provide up to $8m to partner financial institutions for on-lending to women-led businesses as well as business advice. Risk-sharing and technical assistance offered by the EBRD will seek to make loans more accessible for female entrepreneurs. In addition the Bank will provide women entrepreneurs with access to mentoring, entrepreneurship training courses, and know-how from local consultants and international experts to grow their businesses ...
USAID Microfinance Training Program Assists Young Afghan Women Enter Financial Sector
September, 26 2017
Afghanistan - Seventy-five young Afghan women graduated today from USAID Promote: Women in the Economy (WIE)’s Microfinance Institute Training (MFI) Program. Implemented by the Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA), the nine-month apprenticeship program equips young women with the technical and managerial skills needed to secure jobs in banking and microfinance by increasing enrollment of women in training programs the MFIs already give to their new employees ...
India: Green Bond Sales Double to Record $3 Billion This Year
September, 26 2017
India - India's focus on renewables has pushed green bond sales to a record high of $3 billion this year, doubling from the year ago, as investors with dedicated funds prefer India over China, where funds aimed at green power have less strict norms of use ...
Morocco: Africa - UNDP Praises HM the King's Personal Commitment to Africa's Development
September, 26 2017
Morocco - The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has praised the personal commitment of HM King Mohammed VI to the development of Africa and has signalled its interest to work in a joint program of actions with Morocco targeting the African continent ...
Merchant Acquiring: Why Winning Is the Wrong Approach
September, 25 2017
Global - If digital financial services (DFS) providers are to make serious inroads on merchant payments, it is becoming increasingly clear that acquiring models need to change. Thus far, the big providers (read mobile network operators) have been all doing what they are used to doing: setting up proprietary networks of merchants to grab real estate in the market and become the dominant brand in the space. Unfortunately, there are several reasons why that’s a poor strategy to succeed in merchant payments — for the industry as a whole as well as for individual providers ...
M. L. Clason Höök, Manager, M. Bachesta Communications Lead, RAF Learning Lab: Using Fintech to Feed the World: Four Innovative Approaches in Smallholder Finance
September, 25 2017
Global - Easy, convenient, digital access to finance. As aspiring homeowners in the United States use online services like Rocket Mortgage to “make getting a home loan easy,” an ocean away in places like Kenya and Zambia, rural smallholder farmers are using similar digital technologies to access the finance they need to improve their farms and businesses ...
India: Demonetisation Halves Microfinance Industry's Growth
September, 25 2017
India - Indian microfinance sector, which has been clocking an average growth rate of 36 per cent in recent years, has registered a sharp dip in its growth to 18 per cent during 2016-17. The slowdown in the microfinance industry is an indication of the impact of the demonetisation of high value currency by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the unorganised sector ...
Pakistan: Ending Poverty Requires More Than Just Commitment
September, 25 2017
Pakistan - The government’s commitment to achieving the SDGs has yet to be translated into an action plan. The first two goals — ending poverty and achieving zero hunger — still await approval of a national food security policy. The business-as-usual approach is not going to make any significant impact on poverty reduction. A more innovative and comprehensive approach is needed, with increased focus on reducing the economic, social and environmental risks confronting the poor, according to the United Nations ...
Education Cannot Wait - Investing in Our Shared Humanity
September, 24 2017
Global - World leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York this past week. At the 72nd General Assembly, renewed calls were made for our universal values that laid the foundation for the United Nations. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was at the forefront, such as ending poverty and hunger, achieving gender-equality, and ensuring justice and peace. But how do we get there? ...
Lending App MicroMoney to Raise $30Mln Through an ICO in October, Helping Bring 2 Bln Unbanked Into the New Crypto-Economy
September, 23 2017
Global - MicroMoney, a fintech institution from Eastern Asia, announces today its Initial Coin Offering set to launch on 18 October, 2017. The visionary company has big plans to transform the economy in emerging markets ...
'No Two Emerging Markets Are the Same'
September, 22 2017
Global - As recent announcements have shown, investment funds are increasingly turning their eyes towards emerging markets throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America, attracted by the potential for higher returns. In Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Argentina, to name just a few key markets, a combination of economics, politics and renewable energy resources has given rise to significant investment opportunities. ...
Water.org’s WaterEquity Borrowing $20m from Overseas Private Investment Corporation for WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 to Finance Water, Sanitation Systems in Asia
September, 22 2017
Global - The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a self-sustaining agency of the US government, recently agreed to lend USD 20 million to the WaterCredit Investment Fund 3, which will invest in microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other organizations that facilitate the deployment of safe water and sanitation systems. The goal of the fund is to raise USD 50 million to reach 4.6 million people in South and Southeast Asia over seven years. ...
East Ventures Ännounces New $30M Fund to Continue Investing in Indonesia
September, 21 2017
Indonesia - East Ventures is back at it again with another new fund to invest in early-stage companies in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s fourth most populous country ...
H. Grady, Vice President, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Mozambique - Sustainable Investments Are Not Always What They Seem
September, 21 2017
Mozambique - Investors need to better educate themselves about the local context in which their funds are deployed ...
E. Anzilotti, Assistant Editor, Fast Company: The UN Is Forming an Accelerator to Make Its Sustainable Development Goals a Reality
September, 21 2017
Global - Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) will convene public- and private-sector leaders to come up with solutions to major issues like climate change, access to clean water, and building sustainable cities. ...
Survey Report on Mobile Money Agent Networks in Pakistan Released
September, 21 2017
Pakistan - The survey report is based on over 2,000 mobile money agent interviews that were conducted across Pakistan and highlights findings on the mobile money agent landscape in Pakistan, covering the agent network structure, agent viability, quality of provider support, compliance and risk as well as other important strategic considerations. The survey is designed to provide valuable insights for the digital financial sector in Pakistan and provide recommendations for developing sustainable networks of mobile money agents. Survey Report on Mobile Money Agent Networks in Pakistan Released ...
M. Fox, Author: The Power of Microfinance - How FINCA Says it Changes the Lives of Low-Income Entrepreneurs
September, 20 2017
Global - FINCA currently has 10,000 employees around the world and millions of current and former clients. The combination of financial sustainability and positive social impact the organization achieves aligns with Simon’s desire to leave something better behind. “We are building an institution that has the potential to change the lives of individuals, their families, and their communities ...
HKMA Commits US$1 Billion to IFC’s MCPP for Investing Across Sectors in Emerging Markets
September, 20 2017
Global - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, committing US$1 billion to the innovative MCPP debt mobilization platform for emerging markets ...
Building Customer Loyalty at the Bottom of the Pyramid
September, 20 2017
Global - The premise of all loyalty programs is that they promote continued patronage. In a world where there is often little variation between competitors’ offerings, a well-designed loyalty program could make all the difference for your business. After all, a good loyalty program could very well decide which airline you choose for your next business trip ...
Unilever Raises the Bar on Private Sector Leadership to Achieve the SDGs Through Digital Payments
September, 20 2017
Global - In a significant step towards integrating social benefits into business strategy, the UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance announced its newest member: Unilever. ...
C-Quadrat’s Dual Return Vision Microfinance Funds Loan $12.5 to MFIs in Latin America, Southeast Asia
September, 20 2017
Global - An arm of Austrian fund manager C-Quadrat, C-Quadrat Asset Management, recently informed MicroCapital that its Dual Return Vision Microfinance and Dual Return Vision Microfinance-Local Currency funds lent a total approximately equivalent to USD 12.5 million to unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in four Latin American countries – Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru – as well as two in Asia – Indonesia and Myanmar ...
Kenya Leads Africa in Financial Inclusion Innovation
September, 20 2017
Kenya - Kenya is leading the way when it comes to digital innovation for financial inclusion in Africa, according to research by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) ...
European Commission Makes Fintech a Priority in Supervisory Shakeup
September, 20 2017
Global - The European Commission is proposing to reform financial supervision across the EU with a renewed focus on new technology developments and the promotion of the emerging fintech sector ...
Mexico Readies Bill to Regulate Fast-Growing Fintech Industry
September, 19 2017
Mexico - Mexico would regulate its fast-growing financial technology sector, including firms that use crypto-currencies like bitcoin, to protect consumers and spur competition, under a proposed bill seen by Reuters. ...
CARE Enterprises Announces Plans to Deploy $30 Million Through Investment Structures and Collaboration with World Economic Forum's Fourth Sector Development Initiative
September, 19 2017
Gobal - Today, CARE Enterprises Inc. announces its collaboration with the Fourth Sector Development Initiative of the World Economic Forum and its plans to deploy $30 million in patient capital through flexible deal structures to meet the unique needs of for-benefit entrepreneurs that are creating transformative economic opportunity for people living in poverty. ...
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Commits $20 Million Loan for WaterEquity’s Social Impact Investment Fund
September, 19 2017
Global - WaterEquity, an innovation of Water.org, today announced it has received a commitment for a $20 million loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. OPIC, a self-sustaining U.S. government agency that helps American businesses invest in emerging markets, is supporting WaterEquity’s WaterCredit Investment Fund 3 (WCIF3), a $50 million social impact investment Fund that will invest in enterprises serving water and sanitation needs among the world’s poor ...
China's Green Powerhouse Is Going Global
September, 19 2017
China - Everbright International is embracing China's global infrastructure plan by investing in the environment ...
India: Common Code for Micro-Finance
September, 19 2017
India - A uniform set of credit and business conduct rules, including caps on loans, will bind all entities engaged in micro-credit lending in the country. The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the self-regulatory organisation for the industry, has released its Mutually Agreed Code of Conduct (MACC) ...
V. Smith, Global Head of Corporate Sustainability, Citi: The 7 Trillion Dollar Question - Can Sustainable Financial Products Close the SDG Financing Gap?
September, 19 2017
Global - Policy debates on climate change and sustainable development routinely cite the massive numbers needed to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): an additional $1 trillion annually in clean energy investments to limit global warming to below 2 degrees and $5 trillion-$7 trillion a year to achieve the SDGs ...
How Cryptocurrency Is Helping More Women Enter The Global Market
September, 18 2017
Global - What’s all the hype about cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and blockchain technology? Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are digital money that’s decentralized (no banks needed!), and that offers the potential for secure – and transparent - online transactions ...
Credit Suisse Looks to Make an Impact with New Investment Wing
September, 18 2017
Global - Credit Suisse has set up a new department to nurture socially conscious investing, the latest effort by a major bank to cater for growing demand for so-called impact investing. ...
Fintech: Where Necessity Is the Mother of Invention
September, 18 2017
Global - Cutting-edge technologies are being harnessed to bring affordable financial services to hundreds of millions of people in emerging markets. They offer a glimpse into how financial services in the rest of the world may develop. ...
Barclays Launches Impact Fund of Funds
September, 18 2017
Global - Barclays has launched an impact investing fund in order to meet 'growing demand' from clients for social and environmentally-conscious investments. ...
Capital Markets: How to Build a Social Bond Market
September, 18 2017
Global - As an ecosystem to support and build the social bond brand starts to emerge, could the market outstrip its green cousin? There is a good chance, given the breadth of problems and the financing needs behind them. But some big challenges lie ahead. ...
Australia Launches Its First Live Impact Investing Database
September, 18 2017
Australia - Investors looking to support businesses making a social impact have been bolstered by the launch of a live impact investing database, which looks to connect investors and investees in this growing market ...
Ghana: BoG Sets Compliance Deadline for Microfinance Institutions
September, 18 2017
Ghana - The rule requires MFIs to have a public governance policy Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have up to the end of April, 2018 to comply with new guidelines set by the central bank to streamline their operations, a report by the Finance Committee of Parliament has revealed ...
Sustaining Microfinancing in Nigeria
September, 18 2017
Nigeria - Microfinancing has contributed immensely to small and medium-scale businesses in both rural and urban areas in the country. This is by empowering the economically active people and bringing about growth and development of individuals through soft and accessible loans. It is the hope of the common people for self-sustenance and development ...
Ghana: Total Assets of 75 Micro-Credit Companies Hit GHȼ27,803,095.96
September, 18 2017
Ghana - The total assets of 75 member companies of the Micro-Credit Association of Ghana (MCAG) hit GHȼ27,803,095.96, last year. They also granted loans amounting to GHȼ18,049,267.00 during the period. ...
Seven Reasons Why Chinese Regulators Shut Down Bitcoin Exchanges
September, 17 2017
China - A professor at China’s Renmin University has offered his interpretation of why the regulators are shutting down Chinese bitcoin exchanges. He outlined seven key reasons ...
A. Dzyatkovsky, CEO, MicroMoney: Get Me My Wedding Present: How We Run a Micro-Lending Business in Cambodia
September, 17 2017
Ghana - Southeast Asia is an exciting market: people are up for new challenges for a better quality of life, and this presents a promising audience for many good ventures, due to the fast return of investments. It’s also a real challenge to work in a country which is so excitingly different, and our Cambodian lessons helped us to take on new goals and opportunities in the region. ...
Microfinance Pioneer Grameen Bank to Set Up Japan Branch Next Year
September, 16 2017
Japan - Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh-based organization known for providing small loans in poverty-stricken rural areas, is planning to open a branch in Japan next summer, sources said Saturday. Grameen Japan will focus on helping people in need of financial aid such as those receiving welfare benefits and struggling single mothers as they look for work opportunities ...
India: IndusInd Bank Secures $200 Million Loan from ADB for Microlending
September, 15 2017
India - Private player IndusInd BankBSE 2.62 % today said it has secured up to USD 200 million (about Rs 1,282 crore) loan from multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) to serve low income women borrowers in rural areas ...
How to Accelerate Financial Inclusion in Pakistan: Lessons from the New Financial Inclusion Insights Data
September, 15 2017
Pakistan - The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), launched in May 2015, set an ambitious goal of expanding access to financial services from 10 percent of adults to at least 50 percent by the year 2020. Intermedia’s newly-released Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) data suggests that, as of 2016, Pakistan’s progress was not yet on a trajectory to get to 50 percent. It also suggests ways Pakistan could improve the rate of progress. ...
New Micro-Finance Initiative Launched in Egypt at USD2.8mn Worth
September, 14 2017
Egypt - A state-owned investment bank NI Capital launched an USD2.8mn micro-finance arm called Tamweely in conjunction with government-backed private investment entity Ayady for Investment and Development ...
How Much of Your Money Should You Invest in Emerging Markets?
September, 14 2017
Global - Should I put my money in so-called emerging markets? It’s an age-old question for investors and finding a definitive answer is all but impossible. ...
Google Is Reportedly Releasing a Localized Mobile Payment Service in India
September, 13 2017
India - Google is increasing its focus on India with plans to introduce a localized digital payment service as soon as next week, according to a report from India-based news site The Ken ...
Somaliland: The Surprising Place Where Cash Is Going Extinct
September, 13 2017
Somalia - Somaliland, a self-declared republic in East Africa, faces high illiteracy and has an economy ravaged by a civil war. But it might just become the first cashless society on Earth ...
Microfinance Services Making a Difference in ‘Deprived’ Regions: Juniper
September, 13 2017
Global - The continued roll-out of mobile microfinance services will lead to a surge in financial inclusion in some of the world’s most deprived regions, according to a new report from global firm Juniper Research ...
India: Financial Outreach Grows with MFIs Working as Business Correspondents Contributing 20% of Total Loans
September, 13 2017
India - Reserve Bank of India's decision to allow micro finance institutions (MFIs) as business correspondents for banks is proving to be a success in ensuring a steady flow of funds towards the unbanked sector despite the fact that several micro lenders face difficulty in raising growth capital ...
India’s Impact Investing Mkt to Grow to US$8 bn Annually by 2025: McKinsey
September, 12 2017
India - There are over 50 active impact funds in India. Average holding period at exit for impact investment funds in India has been about five years unlike 10 years in PE space, indicating better returns in social ventures ...
India: Janalakshmi Financial Services Raises Rs1,030 Crore Equity Capital
September, 12 2017
India - Janalakshmi Financial Services, which has received final approval to set up a small finance bank, has raised equity capital of Rs1,030 crore through new and existing investors ...
IFC Committed $1.7 Billion in MENA in Fiscal Year 2017 to Support Economic Growth
September, 12 2017
Global - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, stepped up its investments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) last fiscal year, committing $1.7 billion to support the region’s private sector, boost innovation, drive economic growth, and create jobs ...
India: IndusInd Will Discuss $2.2 Billion Bharat Financial Deal
September, 11 2017
India - IndusInd Bank Ltd., the Indian lender pursuing a takeover of Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd., is negotiating a potential deal valuing the microfinance provider at about $2.2 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter ...
The Future of China's Economy Is Digital
September, 11 2017
China - China’s economy hurtling towards digitization — and the lines between its real and virtual economies will increasingly blur in the years ahead, says a senior investment officer with the nation’s sovereign wealth fund and author of a new book examining the digital transformation of the world’s second-largest economy ...
Zimbabwe: Microfinance Industry Confidence Levels Rise
September, 11 2017
Zimbabwe - ZIMBABWE’S microfinance industry appears to be gaining public confidence if latest statistics are anything to go by. Despite being blemished by a culture of usurious interest rates and repossession of borrowers’ assets prior to formal regulation by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), the industry is growing to become key in the country’s financial inclusion strategy ...
Egypt: Can the Banking Sector Achieve Financial Inclusion Alone?
September, 10 2017
Egypt - The question posed by Daily News Egypt is, can the banking sector alone achieve financial inclusion in Egypt? Or does achieving this aim require other things? Is the infrastructure of the banks, including the branches and ATMs and technological tools enable banks to achieve this goal? A number of bankers who answered these questions stressed that the banking infrastructure is ready, but achieving this goal requires government and legislative support ...
UN Calls for More Global Commitment to SDGs
September, 09 2017
Global - UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has called for escalated efforts by Nations for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that the 2030 deadline is met ...
India: The Dynamics of Fintech & MSME Alliance
September, 09 2017
India - Acting as an enabler for the unbanked and the under-banked, alternative lending has emerged as one of the core elements in Fintech space in India. ...
Red Cross Links Investors to War Zones with First 'Humanitarian Bond'
September, 08 2017
Global - A new funding model launched by the Red Cross aims to attract private capital to conflict zones to help some of the world’s neediest people, while giving investors a return on their money. The “Humanitarian Impact Bond” set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) with a value of 26 million Swiss francs ($27.5 million), has attracted capital from New Re, part of global reinsurer Munich Re Group, among other investors ...
Are Impact Investors Missing a Trick by Overlooking Local Communities?
September, 08 2017
Global - It’s 10 years since the term ‘impact investing‘ was coined to reflect investments that bring about social and environmental benefits alongside financial returns. Since then, the impact investing sector has grown to US$77 billion. For Durreen Shahnaz, an investment banker turned social entrepreneur from Bangladesh, impact investing seeks to “connect the Wall Streets of the world with the backstreets of underserved communities”. ...
Development Special: How Microfinance Is Helping to Change Lives in the Philippines
September, 08 2017
Philippines - The concept is simple enough – recipients are granted small loans – they typically start at about 5,000 Philippines pesos (about $AUS120) – to help them find alternative sources of income, whether it be starting a new microenterprise or expanding an existing one. There are also loans to help those living in poverty do things like upgrade their accommodation, meet immediate health or medical needs or put in better sanitation facilities, like a toilet ...
K. Kadiresan, Assistant Director General, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation: How Biotech Is Helping Asia Tackle Hunger and Meet Its Development Goals
September, 08 2017
Global - Kundhavi Kadiresan says scientists can help boost food production in Asia – home of most of the world’s poor – and have already had their share of successes in India and Thailan ...
Pakistan: Nestlé, Telenor Microfinance Bank Partner to Launch Digital Lending for Farmers
September, 08 2017
Pakistan - As part of leveraging digitization to benefit its dairy value chain, Nestlé Pakistan has joined hands with Telenor Microfinance Bank (previously known as Tameer Bank) as the first FMCG to facilitate its dairy farmer base through the provision of digital micro-finance lending ...
T. Kreiner Executive Director of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, L. Gray Professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences, both at Santa Clara University: Solar Lighting in Remote Rural Areas: Oversold or Truly Illuminating?
September, 07 2017
Global - Solar Sister uses a network of women-centered direct sales entrepreneurs, known as Solar Sister Entrepreneurs or SSEs, to distribute solar lanterns in Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. While not an RCT, the Miller Center research involved detailed interviews with 257 Solar Sister customers and SSEs in more than 20 rural villages in Tanzania. The interviews examined the effects of small-scale solar lanterns on users’ health, education, time allocation, income generation, and economic empowerment and agency. The research also looked at differences between male and female respondents, and between SSEs and their customers ...
China: PAG, Primavera Lead $117M Round in Online Unsecured Loan Lender Dashu Finance
September, 07 2017
China - Asian alternative investment management firm PAG and China-focused private equity firm Primavera Capital Group have led a RMB800 million (US$117 million) series C round in Dashu Finance, a Shenzhen-based online lender of unsecured loans to small and micro enterprises that traditionally could not secure funding from banks ...
India: Two Bengaluru NBFCs to Raise $50 Million Each from Private Equity Investors
September, 07 2017
India - Bengaluru-based NBFCs, Thirumeni Finance and Vistaar Financial Services, are in talks to raise about $100 million from private equity investors ...
'We're Trying to Go All In': Chocolate Giant Mars Pledges $1 billion to Fight Climate Change
September, 06 2017
Global - The chocolate giant Mars is promising to spend close to $1 billion over the next few years fighting climate change. The $35 billion food giant behind brands like M&Ms, Skittles, and Twix on Wednesday launched its "Sustainability in a Generation" plan, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of its business and supply chain by more than 60% by 2050. ...
$1.5 Billion Microgrid Market Opportunity Emerges in Kenya
September, 05 2017
Kenya - A confluence of innovation, risk taking, and public and private effort has created a five-year, $1.5 billion microgrid market opportunity in Kenya, leading Germany’s TFE Consulting to dub the East African nation, “The World’s Microgrid Lab. ...
India: The Alchemy of Financing
September, 05 2017
India - Microfinance’s reliance solely on the boots-on-the-ground approach to distribute and collect loans can’t afford personalization. When you run a company with a field force in the thousands serving millions of customers scattered across the country, it is difficult to resist the regimented one-size-fits-all collection model to make the economics work. ...
How Blockchain Is Kickstarting the Financial Lives of Refugees
September, 05 2017
Global - Finland’s digital money system for asylum seekers shows what blockchain technology can offer the unbanked ...
The Tunisian EFC Is Stepping Up Its Contribution to Job Creation and Economic Growth
September, 05 2017
Tunisia - According to World Bank estimates, more than half the businesses in Tunisia have insufficient access to financial services. This is what motivated the creation of an Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) in that country. Set up in 2015 by DID, the Tunisian EFC (Centre Financier aux Entreprises - Tunisie S.A.) intends to improve access to secure and affordable financial services for entrepreneurs operating micro and small enterprises, and by doing so, to support job creation and poverty reduction ...
The Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative Partners with the Microinsurance Network
September, 05 2017
Global - UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI), the largest collaboration between the United Nations and the insurance industry, announced its partnership with the Microinsurance Network, a global multi-stakeholder platform for the international microinsurance community of experts and institutions ...
B. Stephens, COO, Mix: Financial Inclusion is Failing Farmers - How the Sector Can Finally Reach the $200 Billion Smallholder Market
September, 05 2017
Global - The financial inclusion sector is failing to meet the needs of its largest base of potential new customers, and a lack of information on how to offer it services is a major cause ...
Blockchain Firm Everex Raises $26M in ICO
September, 04 2017
Global - Everex, a Singapore-based financial inclusion blockchain development company, has raised over $26 million in its initial coin offering (ICO) which ended on August 31, 2017 ...
After Bringing 800 Million Out of Poverty, China Aims to Eradicate It Completely by 2020
September, 03 2017
China - The country plans to invest US$366 billion in renewable energy technologies by 2020, creating more than 13 million jobs. China — which has already become the first country in the world to accomplish the UN millennium development goal of reducing poverty by half — has plans to eradicate poverty completely by 2020 ...
‘Over 40m Nigerians Still Don’t Bank Their Money’
September, 01 2017
Nigeria - Despite the awareness being created by financial institutions on financial inclusion, it has been revealed that over 40 million Nigerians still do not keep their money in the bank ...
Jamaica: New Microfinance Firm Enters the Market With Big Backing
September, 01 2017
Jamaica - Mundo aims to differentiate itself by not dealing with walk-in clients, according to CEO David Lee. "The difference with our business model is that unlike other microfinance operations that have a branch in every major town, we take the completely different approach of not lending to strangers walking in," said Lee in an interview with the Financial Gleaner ...

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