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Aug 2019
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Archives:
India: Almost 2m People Left off Assam Register of Citizens
August, 31 2019
India - Rights groups warn of possible humanitarian crisis as those left off list face statelessness and detention ...
Sustainable Investing Turns Out Not to Be as Popular as the Hype
August, 31 2019
Global - The overwhelming drivers of this trend are young people, financial advisors say. Millennials are values-driven, environmentally conscious and financially savvy, we are frequently told. And yet a host of recent studies show that millennial money does not always follow their mouths. ...
Banks to Bridge the Gap of Financial Literacy in the Business Sector
August, 30 2019
Jamaica - Jamaica Banker's Association president Jerome Smalling says many operators of small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not formally trained in business, but the banks are pledging to bridge the gap of financial literacy in the business sector. ...
Sierra Leone Launches e-ID for Social and Financial Inclusion for 5.1 Million Citizens
August, 30 2019
Sierra Leone - The digital ID after pilot testing and implementation for financial services will be rolled out as the principal means of identification for citizens seeking to receive services from the government. UN Sustainable Goal 16 requires all nations to provide legal identity for all citizens to build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions ...
India: LGT Acquires Indian Impact Investor Aspada
August, 30 2019
India - LGT Bank Switzerland has acquired Aspada, an India-focused impact investment fund, to expand its impact investing platform, LGT Lightstone ...
Goldman Sachs, Point72 and Others Invest $42 Million in Mexico's Credijusto
August, 29 2019
Mexico - Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Point72 Ventures and others invested $42 million in a Mexico-based online lender called Credijusto.com, the companies said on Thursday. ...
$40M Palladium Impact Fund to Focus on Agribusiness, Off-Grid Clean Energy
August, 28 2019
Africa - A $40-million fund launched last week by Australia-based global impact firm Palladium aims to invest in agribusiness value chains and off-grid clean energy ventures in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria ...
Female Agents May Hold the Key to Close the Gender Gap in Financial Access in Nigeria
August, 27 2019
Nigeria - There is a predisposition that women offer better customer experience and women are more likely to access financial services from an agent of the same gender ...
Six Tips to Get Family Offices Started with Impact Investing
August, 26 2019
Global - Impact investing has garnered the attention of many families, family offices and private investors alike in recent years. ...
Philippines: Rural Banks Crucial in Financial Inclusion Push
August, 25 2019
Philippines - Rural banks, despite their smaller sizes individually, are known as the banking community’s champion for “customer outreach” because it en­ables the delivery of financial services to reach rural areas ...
Pakistan: Govt Urged to Launch Micro-credit Schemes for Small Farmers
August, 24 2019
Pakistan - Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) President Ahmed Hassan Moughal said on Saturday that despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan remained unable to introduce latest agricultural machinery and technology so far, owing to which the country’s per acre agricultural yield was far less when compared to other countries ...
New Coalition Looks to Align Business Goals with Impact Investing
August, 22 2019
Global - The 34 leading international companies joining the Business for Inclusive Growth initiative will work with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, whose chairman — French President Emmanuel Macron — is expected to promote the initiative at the upcoming G-7 meeting in Biarritz, France ...
In Sierra Leone, New Kiva Protocol Uses Blockchain to Benefit Unbanked
August, 21 2019
Sierra Leone - On Wednesday, the government of Sierra Leone launched its new national digital identity platform ...
India: What Ails the Existing Microcredit Model
August, 21 2019
India - Microcredit has gained much traction as a tool for ensuring the welfare of the most impoverished in the society but there are certain flaws in the model ...
Impact Investing VS Investing with Impact
August, 20 2019
Global - While many are fully invested in making an impact, there's still a great deal of confusion among investors and startups concerning impact investment as a financial instrument and how it forms part of a greater portfolio alongside philanthropy ...
A. Bouri, CEO, GIIN: Setting the Table - How Government Policy Can Help Mobilize Private Capital for Public Good
August, 20 2019
Global - Acting as a facilitator, regulator, investor, participant, or some combination of these, governments can define the landscape in which private capital operates. ...
SSA: Surviving the ‘Valley of Death’ - A New Funding Database Aims to Help Agtech Companies Avoid Early-Stage Failure
August, 19 2019
Sub-saharan Africa - In developing countries, funding SMEs in the agricultural sector presents a lot of challenges. The Netherlands Platform for Inclusive Finance has compiled a database of funds available to help bridge the financial gap for early-stage agtech companies. ...
Reaching the Next Generation of Financial Services Customers in Africa
August, 19 2019
Africa - A lack of data on the youth segment has led many to assume that young people don’t make good clients, whether because they lack money and collateral or because they just aren’t responsible borrowers. However, a growing body of evidence shows that youth have significant potential as clients ...
Southeast Asia: PE Impact Investors Should Target SMEs
August, 19 2019
Southeast Asia - Private equity (PE) impact investors should look at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia as these companies are ready to embrace sustainability practices and are able to have a direct impact on society, according to Jupiter Impact Partners Pte Ltd ...
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Approves $25 Mln Loan to Expand Women's Access to Credit in Pakistan
August, 17 2019
Pakistan - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $25 million syndicated loan to support the lending operations of Kashf Foundation, one of Pakistan's leading microfinance service providers, to low-income households and women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) ...
Turkish NGO Reshapes Microfinance via Blockchain
August, 17 2019
Turkey - A Turkish NGO is set to use blockchain technology to enable entrepreneurs to get funded by social investors anywhere in the world, the head of the Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction (TISVA) said on Friday ...
India: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Files Draft Papers for ₹1,200 Crore IPO
August, 16 2019
India - Microfinance lender Ujjivan Financial Services is the holding company of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. The proceeds of the issue will be utilised towards augmenting the company's capital base to meet future requirements ...
L. Connell, Environment Director, Bank Information Center: How the World Bank Can Save the World's Forests
August, 16 2019
Global - While the World Bank is clearly aware of the many benefits of forests and the people who live in them, their commitment to forests doesn’t always play out on the ground ...
Bank of Ghana Revokes Licenses of 23 S&L Companies
August, 16 2019
Ghana - The Bank of Ghana has finally put paid on insolvent savings and loans companies, with renowned ones including GN Savings and Loans and Ideal Finance been part of the 23 banks whose licenses have been revoked ...
USA: Apollo Jumps into Impact Investing with Plan to Raise $1 Billion
August, 16 2019
USA - Apollo Global Management LLC is planning to set up an impact investing arm, according to people with knowledge of the matter, following some of its biggest peers in targeting funds dedicated to sustainability ...
Countries Most Exposed to Climate Change Face Higher Costs of Capital
August, 15 2019
Global - Research suggests that the most vulnerable countries countries face higher interest rates than similar countries less exposed to climate risks. This raises the prospect of a vicious cycle, in which these countries pay more to borrow, making adaptation harder and them even more exposed ...
IFC and Myanmar Citizens Bank Sign Agreement to Transform Banking in Myanmar
August, 15 2019
Myanmar - By increasing MCB’s ability to better serve SMEs, IFC will contribute to the increasing access to finance, accelerating much needed growth of credit to Myanmar’s expanding private sector, particularly for smaller businesses ...
Cambodia: SEA Cleantech Startup ATEC Raises Debt from US-based Beneficial Returns
August, 15 2019
Cambodia - The fresh funding will be used by ATEC to launch the world’s first PAYGO model for biodigesters. Launching first in Cambodia, ATEC’s PAYGO model will increase access to renewable energy technology for rural farming families ...
Five Takeaways from the OECD’s Survey on Blended Finance Funds & Facilities
August, 14 2019
Global - Last week the OECD launched its Survey on Blended Finance Funds and Facilities in collaboration with Convergence. The new evidence laid out in the OECD report both confirms trends previously observed on the broader blended finance market and sheds light on additional aspects ...
Kenya Ranked 2nd Leading Innovation Hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and 6th Worldwide for Access to Credit and Microfinance Loans
August, 13 2019
Kenya - The World Intellectual Property Organization has ranked Kenya the second leading innovation hub in Sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa in its latest Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019 report. Mauritius was ranked third ...
India: Northern Arc Capital and Spain's GAWA Capital Raise Rs 106 Cr through Pooled Bond Issuance for NBFCs
August, 13 2019
India - Northern Arc Capital, a leading debt platform for non-banking finance companies, has structured and co-invested in a Rs 106-crore pooled bond issue with Spanish impact investment fund Magallanes Impacto, for four NBFCs that focus on financial inclusion in various sectors ...
IFC Helps Boost Access to Finance for Smaller Businesses & Women Entrepreneurs in Georgia
August, 12 2019
Georgia - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a long-term local currency loan of 100 million Georgian GEL (about $35 million) to the Bank of Georgia to help boost access to finance for smaller businesses and women entrepreneurs. ...
A.Bouri, CEO, GIIN: Why Impact Investing Is a Natural Fit for Faith-Based Investors
August, 12 2019
Global - As of 2016, 126 faith-based organizations of “diverse religions and creeds,” such as Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity, and with a collective $24 billion in assets, had committed to divesting from fossil fuels, with many feeling a moral imperative to provide clean energy to the world’s poor ...
Payroll Lending Gaining Prominence in Nigeria – Report
August, 11 2019
Nigeria - Payroll lending activities have grown in prominence mainly attributable to the unmet demand for small-sum short-term credit by low to middle-income individuals since 2010 ...
Nigeria: How Buhari's School Feeding Programme Improves Human Capital, Women's Financial Inclusion in Katsina
August, 11 2019
Nigeria - The HGSF programme was introduced in 2016 as part of the N500 billion funded Social Investment Programme of the President Buhari administration. It was projected to provide 1.14 million jobs across the country, including community women who would be engaged as cooks ...
ESG Investing Sparks Race in Tech and Hiring at Asset Managers
August, 10 2019
Global - Fund groups aim to meet rising demand by ensuring they have the right tools and specialists ...
Papua New Guinea A Leader in Off-grid Solar Lighting
August, 09 2019
Papua New Guinea - A new report by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, says Papua New Guinea has achieved dramatic growth in the use of off-grid solar products with 60% of households now using solar lighting, compared to just two percent seven years ago. ...
The Surprising Leader in the Impact Investing Boom: Debt
August, 08 2019
Global - There is huge potential: at 26% of impact AUM, private debt is the largest asset class within impact investing. ...
India: RBI Takes Measures to Boost Credit Flow to NBFC Sector
August, 07 2019
India - To encourage banks to lend to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), the Reserve Bank of India has upped the single NBFC exposure limit for banks ...
Telecoms Companies Are Reducing the Digital Gender Gap across Africa
August, 07 2019
Africa - The potential impact of the digital transformation is significant. The consultancy firm McKinsey recently estimated that by 2025, digital financial services could allow up to 1.6 billion people globally to enter the formal economy. ...
Technology, Innovation Boost Financial Inclusion in China
August, 06 2019
China - An industrywide consensus to develop financial inclusion in China with a greater reliance on available technologies has been reached, financial service professionals and experts said ...
India: Spandana Sphoorty IPO Subscribed 6% on Day 1: Here's All You Need to Know
August, 06 2019
India - Spandana Sphoorty Financial, which is the fourth-largest microfinance institution in India, offers income generation loans under the joint liability group model, predominantly to women from low-income households in rural areas ...
Cameroon : World Bank Backs Agricultural Index Insurance Project with XAF 270 Mln
August, 05 2019
Cameroon - The IFC and its partners want to issue, by end 2020, more than 135,000 agricultural index insurance contracts. These contracts will help more than 700,000 agricultural households cover their farms, access farm inputs and compensate their losses in case of disasters ...
In Search of Common Ground on Sustainable Agriculture
August, 05 2019
Global - Since 2009, the Green Commodities Programme, a United Nations Development Programme initiative, has been pushing for public-private collaboration to establish more sustainable supply chains in agriculture ...
China: Rural Banks Join Hands to Boost Financial Inclusion in Yangtze River Delta Area
August, 02 2019
China - The Shanghai Rural and Commercial Bank has linked with 21 rural lenders as well as three agricultural cooperative credit societies from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, to boost financial inclusion and lend more support to the economy of the Yangtze River Delta area ...
Bangladesh: Microfinance Transformation Inevitable
August, 02 2019
Bangladesh - Transformation of microfinance institutions is inevitable considering rural economic growth and financial inclusion requirements of Bangladesh where some 50 percent of the adult population remain unbanked, said discussants yesterday. ...
GGF Lends 1.5 Mln Euro to Montenegro's Alter Modus to Back Energy Efficiency Projects
August, 02 2019
Montenegro - The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) has provided a 1.5 million euro ($1.7 million) senior loan to Montenegrin microfinance institution Alter Modus to finance the country’s growing energy efficiency market, it said on Friday ...
Nigeria’s Largest Mobile Operator Is About to Become a Bank
August, 01 2019
Nigeria - MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms operator, has been granted a “super agent” license which allows it set up an agent network through which it can provide financial services. ...
India: Dutch Development Bank FMO Plans $42 Mn Investment in Aavishkaar Venture
August, 01 2019
India - FMO said the proposed funding will be used by Aavishkaar to grow its loan book as well as pursue new growth initiatives. It will also play an active role in improving environmental, social and corporate governance principles in Aavishkaar, it added ...
Cambodia: Banking, Microfinance Sectors Maintain Strong Growth
August, 01 2019
Cambodia - Loan and deposit growth in the Kingdom’s crowded financial sector remained high during the first half of the year, a result of sound macroeconomic management and political stability, the Central Bank said in its latest report ...

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