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The Emergence of Tokenisation in Microfinance: How this Blockchain-Based Technology is Driving Faster Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs In Emerging Markets
Tokenisation — the process of leveraging blockchain to create digital tokens that represent real-world assets — is gaining significant momentum, with some estimating that it could become a $3.8 trillion market by 2030. According to Michele Mattioda at Mikro Kapital, the microfinance industry — and the small and medium enterprises it supports — have a lot to gain from the tokenisation wave. He explores how tokenisation is gradually making inroads into the sector, and discusses Mikro Kapital's experience launching the market’s first tokenised bonds to raise proceeds for microfinance institutions.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Why Insurance Matters: Announcing the European Microfinance Award 2025 on ‘Building Resilience Through Inclusive Insurance’
Insurance is a hard sell, especially among low-income populations. Yet as Sam Mendelson at e-MFP, and Matthew Genazzini and Asier Achutegui at the Microinsurance Network argue, affordable and tailored insurance products are essential to ensuring economic security and resilience in vulnerable communities. They explore the challenges and opportunities in offering insurance products to low-income customers, and announce the launch of the European Microfinance Award 2025, which will focus on “Building Resilience Through Inclusive Insurance.”
- Categories
- Finance
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Revitalizing Off-Grid Solar: Why Africa’s PAYGo Sector is Ready for a New Dawn
Africa's off-grid solar sector, particularly pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar, has passed through a period of disillusionment among investors, as profitability has remained elusive. But as Chris Emmott at Acumen, Audrey Desiderato at Mirova and Bankole Cardoso at Delta40 Venture Studio argue, the sector nevertheless stands on the cusp of becoming a mature industry with real and sustainable impact. They explain why they remain optimistic about the future of PAYGo solar as impact investors, and why it's time for honest conversations and compromise from all stakeholders — including companies and their investors — about how the industry can move into the next stage of its development.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Finance, Investing, Technology
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The Global Aid Industry is Repeating the Mistakes that Caused the 2008 Financial Crisis: A Warning from a Former Leader at Lehman Brothers
In 2008, the failure of a single institution, Lehman Brothers, triggered a global financial crisis — not because of Lehman alone, but because of the unseen interdependencies that held the world’s financial system together. According to David Davies at AgUnity, a leader at Lehman Brothers during the 2008 crisis, America is in the process of making the same catastrophic mistake in global aid. He explains why the collapse of USAID threatens to bring down the deeply interconnected global aid system, impacting hundreds of millions of people — and urges private foundations, philanthropists and impact investors to step up.
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Making Mini-Grids Work for Everyone: A Tariff Harmonization Pilot in Sierra Leone Reveals the Benefits and Challenges of Lowering Prices
Solar mini-grids offer a promising solution to energy poverty in Africa. But according to Tombo Banda and Lisa Kahuthu at CrossBoundary and Miriam Atuya, this approach has yet to gain sufficient traction, due in part to the challenge of balancing operational sustainability with affordability. If customer tariffs are set too low, operators lack revenue — but if prices are set too high, mini-grid electricity isn’t accessible enough to drive widespread adoption. They share the results of a pilot program in Sierra Leone that tested the impact of lower prices on mini-grid operators and their customers, highlighting the implications for future efforts to implement tariff reduction at scale.
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Subsidy and Synergy: How Philanthropy Can Complement Impact Investing More Effectively
The original goal of impact investing was to build out the funding spectrum between philanthropy and commercial investment. But according to Asad Mahmood at SIMA and Nanno Kleiterp, the arrival of private equity firms — promising scale and market-rate financial returns — has pulled all the sector's energy toward the commercial end of the spectrum. They explore the key role philanthropic subsidy has played in the development of emerging markets business, clarify some misconceptions about its role in impact investing, and propose some ways philanthropists and impact investors can better align their efforts.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Navigating the Financing Paradox for WSMEs: Workable Solutions for Increasing Financial Inclusion Among Women-Owned or -Led Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
In Africa, an estimated $42 billion financing gap exists for small and medium-sized enterprises owned or led by women (WSMEs). According to Nathalie Gogue-Ebo, Crystal Mugimba, Millie Maina and Shiemaa Ahmed at Open Capital, this gap has persisted despite the fact that women own the majority of the continent’s SMEs, and that globally, they default on their loans at a rate 53% lower than men. They explore the main roadblocks facing African WSMEs, and share some solutions that can ensure that these women entrepreneurs have access to the capital they need to thrive.
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One Village at a Time: A Women-Led Model for Bringing Digital Services and Financial Inclusion to Rural Bangladesh
Women customers constitute a huge market in rural Bangladesh, where many men have migrated to cities or foreign lands in search of work. Garima Singh at FinValue Advisors explores how the Bangladeshi financial services company Zaytoon Business Solutions is expanding access to digital financial and government services in rural communities — while boosting women's empowerment and employment — by extending its agent network to include "village digital booths" staffed by local women.
- Categories
- Finance
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