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A Light in the Darkness
Some mountainous parts of Mexico are so remote that the electricity grid fails to reach them, let alone the banking system. A five-year-old social enterprise, Iluméxico, hopes to change that. It provides more than 20,000 people with loans to buy low-cost solar panels and batteries, enabling them to switch lights on, watch television and charge mobile phones, sometimes for the first time.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Latin America
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The Most Popular Posts for May : Details, details, details
Looking at the blog posts receiving the most page views in May, it’s clear that our readers also like to sweat the details, as three exceptionally detailed (yet extraordinarily readable) posts topped our readers’ favorites.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- microfinance, solar
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Press Release: FINCA Surpasses $1 Million in Loans to Microenterprise and Small Businesses in Nigeria in First Six Months
FINCA's newest subsidiary, FINCA Microfinance Bank Ltd. in Nigeria, surpassed USD 1 million in small loans to microenterprise and small business owners within its first six months of operation, it was announced today by President & CEO Rupert Scofield during his remarks at the Spring meeting of the Financial Inclusion Equity Council (FIEC), hosted this year by FINCA at its headquarters building in Washington, DC.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Is There Finally Some Movement on the Pressing Challenge of Microinsurance?
More market players are stepping into the microinsurance arena - if this trend continues, the role of philanthropy in this space may become less and less critical.
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- Uncategorized
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In America’s Payday Loan Capital, Innovative Microcredit Helps Break The Debt Cycle
Mississippi has more payday lenders per capita than anywhere else in America, but an innovative partnership is helping to give the state's residents access to responsible small-dollar loans.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- microfinance
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TPC the First Microfinance Institution in Cambodia Certified for Commitment to Client Protection
Thaneakea Phum Cambodia (TPC) has been formally recognized as “Client Protection Certified” by the Smart Campaign for meeting strong standards of client care. TPC is the first microfinance institution in Cambodia to be awarded this prestigious certification and one of the 10 MFIs pursuing such recognition supported by funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) under the "Client Protection Initiative" project Implemented by Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA).
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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SACCOs Seek Speedy Regulation in Uganda
Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs) leaders have asked government to fast track regulation for microfinance institutions in the country in order to attract more people to use their services and protect clients.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- microfinance, regulations
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Bandhan Bank Is Born: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh’s Incredible Journey From a Sweet Shop to Owning a Bank
In most Indian languages, the word Bandhan means bond or togetherness. His bond with the credit-deprived poor in Eastern India’s villages and a Rs 2 lakh loan were the initial capital for Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, the son of a small sweet-shop owner from Bengal, to begin a microfinance institution, Bandhan Financial Services Ltd, and grow it to a private bank in less than 15 years.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia