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Is Microcredit a Vaccine or an Antibiotic?
In his third post in a series, Timothy Ogden asks if microcredit is a vaccine or an antibiotic. In other words, does it work best when delivered at the right dose and at the right moment, or when it's made available to an entire population? Thinking through that frame, he believes, can help social investors clarify their theory of change and guide what areas of microcredit innovation to invest in.
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Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, Institute of International Finance and MetLife Foundation Launch Project to Help Banking Industry Overcome Barriers to Financial Inclusion
The Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion (CFI), the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and MetLife Foundation, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a technical partner, announced today a two-year initiative to help advance the financial services industry’s ability to reach unserved and underserved populations. The project, titled Mainstreaming Financial Inclusion: Best Practices, will facilitate learning and action on how financial institutions can respond to the specific challenges of reaching lower income market segments. Through research, knowledge exchange, best practices, real world examples and expert insights, the project will identify and transmit practical guidance that financial institutions can use to expand quality services to the poor.
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Mastercard Delivering Financial Inclusion: One Small Kenyan Farm At A Time
The problem with building financial inclusion — particularly in a developing world context — is that it is a tough goal to pursue directly. While there isn’t much in the way of disagreement that more should be done to connect the approximately 2.5 billion adults who are totally (or nearly totally) detached from formal financial services, actually implementing a plan that actually makes a difference is often a very separate matter.
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- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Curious Case of 4.5 Million Jan Dhan Accounts That Were Closed During India’s Demonetisation Chaos
The Narendra Modi government’s flagship financial inclusion scheme—the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)—has always been about big numbers.
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- South Asia
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GetBucks Goes for the Bucks in Botswana
The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) has approved the Programme Memorandum for the Note and it is anticipated that the Note will be listed on the BSE on Monday, 30 January 2017. Proceeds from the first tranche of the Note of up to BWP 200 million will be used by the Issuer to reduce the cost of funding.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MobiKwik, Paytm Go Multilingual As e-Wallets Tap Users in India’s Hinterland
Majority of the mobile wallets companies are launching multilingual interfaces as focus shifts to make digital payments and commerce more inclusive and widespread by enabling users to transact in their native languages following demonetisation.
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- Technology
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- South Asia
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IFMR Institute in Chennai to Become University Soon
Chennai-based Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), is to become a full-fledged private University soon. IFMR Chennai, now in Sri City, which has been attracting students aspiring for management education, especially in social service and related areas, received letter of intent from the Andhra Pradesh State government for a Private University, said a statement.
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- Education
- Region
- South Asia
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Fintech or Die: Five Ways Microfinance Can (and Must) Respond to the Digital Age
MicroSave founder Graham Wright hasn't been shy in criticizing the ways lenders are currently leveraging fintech to serve low-income clients. But his views on its potential in microfinance are far more bullish than this criticism might suggest. "Very soon, if MFIs don't develop a strategy and implement fintech behind that strategy, I think they will simply become irrelevant and slowly but surely shrink and die," he said in this frank video Q&A.
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- Technology