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Microfinance Clients Make Their Voices Heard: New research reveals their thoughts on how they’re treated by providers
The Smart Campaign has released the results from its Client Voices project, a four-country research investigation that directly asked clients about their experiences with financial providers and their thoughts on what constitutes good and bad treatment. The project features research from Georgia, Peru, Benin and Pakistan, based on face-to-face conversations with thousands of lower-income microfinance clients.
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Moving Beyond Charity: How CURE is changing how low-income patients perceive health care
CURE, the charity-based group of hospitals perhaps best known for its innovative treatment of hydrocephalus, might soon also be recognized for its seamless shift to a more sustainable model. That’s the goal of Derek Johnson, who has served since June as CURE’s director for development and sustainability, after many years as the executive director of CURE Uganda. He discussed the organization's innovations and its efforts to move beyond a strictly charity-based model in a recent interview with NextBillion.
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- Health Care
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Rapid Growth = Equitable Access? Is Ivory Coast’s financial sector expanding enough to reach full inclusion?
Ivory Coast’s financial sector is expanding, but is that enough to reach full financial inclusion? How is the microfinance sector faring in the clean-up process that the government started a few years ago? And how is the rapid expansion of mobile money impacting the overall financial access picture? MIX is launching an updated version of their Ivory Coast workbook release, which explores these key questions.
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NexThought Monday: Remittances Disrupted – Three ways to make the international remittance revolution stick
Every year, workers around the world send nearly half a trillion dollars to their families back home in developing countries. These international remittances are economic lifelines for millions, though the market has long been known primarily for its high fees, and we are still waiting for a true disruption to benefit the lives of the poor. Andria Thomas at Dalberg discusses three notable gaps that are ready for greater investment and action from the private, public and social sectors.
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- Technology
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Weekly Roundup: Grading Super Bowl Ads, Teaching Social Entrepreneurship, Fact-Checking Global Health
Three commercials at this Sunday's Super Bowl 50 come from financial services providers focused on customers who can’t afford a ticket to the game. We grade the three ads in terms of how effectively they present the inclusive elements of these companies' brands, discuss a new school for social entrepreneurs, and explore a new fact-checking initiative for global health in this roundup.
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- Education, Health Care
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Investing in Detroit’s Comeback: Optimism & Challenges on the Road to Inclusive Growth
Detroit’s comeback story is replacing the apocalyptic headlines of recent memory. Thanks to new investment, thousands of new streetlights are on and blight is being tackled at a faster pace than ever before. But fundamental questions remain: Will redevelopment in Detroit lead to equitable growth? Will the city's lower-income and working-class residents who have lived there for decades continue to be a significant part of Detroit’s rich culture, history and vibrancy? These are questions that are being asked in urban areas across the country, says Bradford Frost, director of the Detroit Initiative.
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- Investing
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- impact investing
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Filling the Funding Gap in ‘Pay for Success’
Pay for Success is a promising tool to measurably improve the lives of people in need and address the gap in funding for social programs, says Eileen Neely of Living Cities. It leverages private and philanthropic investors to fund preventative social programs, and the government only repays them for successful outcomes. But according to Neely, there are some concerns about upfront costs that could limit the scalability of the model. She discusses a possible solution in this post.
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- Investing
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Seven Wishes from Seven Thought Leaders for Financial Inclusion in 2016
2015 was an important year for the world of financial inclusion. To better understand and build on the year's successes, BRAC approached the Microfinance CEO Working Group to inquire about their wishes for financial inclusion over the coming year. Here’s what seven industry thought leaders shared with them.
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