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Three Keys to Unlocking Microinsurance’s Potential: The sector is growing – here’s how it can grow faster
Although microinsurance has grown in the shadow of flagship microfinance products like microcredit, it has slowly established itself as a dominant figure in inclusive finance. Yet it is still far from achieving its full potential, with challenges ranging from low coverage rates to lack of customer trust and limited cash-flows. Lisa Chassin of MicroSave outlines key practices that could boost the sector’s growth.
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- Uncategorized
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Banks in India Charging 22% to 26% on Microloans to Poor Borrowers
When it comes to lending to the poor, it is not just the micro finance institutions that charge high interest rates, but even bulgebracket banks such as Axis Bank to YES Bank charge as much as 22% to 26% a year.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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PRESS RELEASE: Bima Receives $5 Million Investment to Bring Microinsurance to Asia Pacific, Caribbean
Bima, the leading global microinsurance provider, announced a 5 million USD investment from Digicel Group, the leading total communications and entertainment provider in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific regions. This investment and the resulting partnership will help Bima to deliver access to affordable insurance on a scale never seen before in those regions.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Five Digital Payment Innovations with the Potential to Transform Development: Visa and NetHope grant recipients illustrate the power of digital payments
Development organizations have begun to embrace digital payments in areas that range from health and education, to food security and poverty alleviation. Visa is working with NetHope to help expand the impact of organizations working in these areas, by supporting programs that utilize electronic transfers and/or payments. These five grant recipients show how digital payments can enhance development and relief efforts.
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- Agriculture, Health Care
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Savings Groups: An Inclusive Emerging Economy, With Africa in the Lead
At a time when news about Africa has been dominated by Ebola, it’s worth observing that a highly encouraging change has been quietly spreading across the continent. Over the past five years, the number of Africans — mainly women — who have joined village-based savings and loan associations has soared to more than nine million. These groups are now operating in 40 countries in Africa. Globally, it’s estimated that 10.5 million people are members of formally trained savings groups in about 65 countries. (PDF) The big story about these groups, including their surprising success and emerging importance in development, comes from Africa.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India’s New “Payment Banks” Expected to Spur Innovation
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday released the final guidelines for licensing of payments and small banks. These banks are intended to cover the unbanked and underbanked areas and increase banking penetration in the country, stated the circular. Let’s take a look at the changes that these banks are likely to bring in financial services.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Banks Get Better Access To Tap Micro Segment
The newly launched branchless banking regulation will enable banks to expand their financial services to disadvantaged and low-income segments at affordable costs, a senior official of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has said.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Roadmap: Microfinance Industry Eyes 10m Customers By 2018
Perhaps this is the reason why Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) Chairman Nadeem Hussain believes that an impressive growth of 20-25% per annum for the past many years has still not made the country’s microfinance industry ‘relevant’ in the fight against poverty.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East