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Is the World Bank to Blame for the Cambodian Microfinance Crisis?
For the past five years, Cambodia’s microfinance sector has been experiencing a major over-indebtedness crisis. And as inclusive finance consultant Daniel Rozas explains, despite multiple warnings that the sector was overheating, IFC, the World Bank’s private investment arm, poured fuel on the flames by investing in the largest and fastest-growing of the country's leading microfinance institutions. Making matters worse, after an investigation by IFC’s own ombudsman concluded that clients had been harmed due to its failure to monitor the social risks created by its investments, its board dismissed those findings. He explores how the industry went off the rails in Cambodia, and argues that IFC not only worsened the crisis, it helped undermine the sector’s own efforts to avert it.
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Press Release: New Global Survey from Kiva by The Harris Poll Finds an Affordability Crisis Is Putting Everyday Giving to the Test
These findings reflect broader headwinds tracked by Giving USA, which found that even as total charitable giving reached a record $617.20 billion, giving by individuals has fallen from roughly 80% of total contributions in past decades to just 64% today, as everyday households face mounting cost-of-living pressures.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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Crypto Moves in Minutes; The Law Takes Months
"Chainalysis' 2026 Crypto Crime Report estimates that $17 billion was stolen through crypto scams and fraud in 2025."
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Report: Money Sent Home by Migrants Nearly Doubles in a Decade
Migrants sent $728.6 billion home to families in low and middle-income countries in 2025, nearly double the amount recorded a decade earlier, according to a new report from the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Algeria’s Fintech Era Begins as Telecom Giant Djezzy Secures Country’s First PSP License
Once fully licensed, Djezzy Payment Services will be permitted to issue digital wallets, process electronic transactions, and operate agent-based financial networks without functioning as a full-service commercial bank.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NADF, German Firm Partner on Climate-Resilient Agricultural Finance
"The partnership is also expected to support the development of new or improved financial products for smallholder farmers, particularly those designed around the growing risks posed by climate change to agricultural production."
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mastercard Launches Wallet Pay to Scale Digital Wallets Worldwide
Harnessing the industry’s most advanced capabilities, Mastercard Wallet Pay solutions empower wallet providers to deliver frictionless experiences — from everyday spending to cross-border transfers – meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding digital economy.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Global
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An Important Update on ANDE’s Future and Sunsetting Operations
Danielle Baussan, Interim Executive Vice President for Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute has made the difficult decision to wind down ANDE’s operations and sunset the network by November 2026.
- Categories
- Education, Energy, Finance, Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
- Region
- Global
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