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SACCOs, Social Collateral and Bitcoin Communities: A Filmmaker Documents New (and Old) Ways to Extend Financial Inclusion Past the Limits of Fintech
Luke Willms worked at an African NGO, where he was tasked with creating short videos to showcase the positive impacts of its microcredit program. But as the video project progressed, his assumptions about the effectiveness of microfinance began to unravel. He would spend the next seven years filming stories from across Africa and other regions, exploring whether microlending still held relevance in a rapidly changing world. The resulting documentary, “Unbankable,” was released last year, with the goal of helping to reframe the global conversation around financial inclusion. He shares key stories from the movie, which show how Africa’s informal, trust-based financial systems offer models of resilience and adaptation that could find new applications in other emerging countries.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Africa Exports to The U.S. Under Pressure As AGOA Trade Benefits Expire
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which had granted duty-free access to thousands of goods from 32 sub-Saharan African countries for 25 years, expired at midnight on September 30 after U.S. lawmakers failed to agree on an extension.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Latin America Fintech Remitee Lands $20 Million Funding Round
Remitee will use the funding to expand its coverage across Latin America, while also "deepening our presence in the US-Europe-LatAm triangle".
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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Relief for MSME Workers as New Pension Scheme Opens Door to Affordable Retirement Savings in Kenya
The deal aims to bring micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) into the country’s formal pension system through the Octagon Umbrella Retirement Benefits Scheme.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- financial health, MSMEs, partnerships, savings
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Habitat for Humanity International and Symbiotics Join Forces to Accelerate and Scale Affordable, Inclusive and Sustainable Housing Finance
“One in 3 people on Earth don’t have a safe, affordable home, and the global need has accelerated in recent years as more and more housing markets have broken,” said Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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Carbon Offsets Fail to Cut Global Heating Due to ‘Intractable’ Systemic Problems, Study Says
While the industry and diplomats have made efforts to improve the system, it found much-awaited rules agreed at a UN climate summit last year “did not substantially address the quality problem”.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
- Region
- Global
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How India’s Non-Bank Financial Companies are Closing the MSME Credit Gap — And What Other Emerging Markets Can Learn from Their Success
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up around 90% of businesses and employ over half of the workforce globally, while generating up to 40% of GDP and creating 70% of formal jobs in emerging markets. Yet according to Sameer Nanda at Ugro Capital Limited, these businesses face an ongoing credit gap that, in India alone, amounts to an estimated ₹80 trillion. He explains how non-bank financial companies are addressing this gap by offering dynamic and flexible lending services designed for MSMEs — and shares useful lessons from their approach that can be applied in other emerging economies with similar credit challenges.
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Zippi, a Brazilian Digital Credit Fintech, Raises Us$15.9 Million to Expand Credit Access for Micro and Small Businesses in Brazil
Securitized through FIDC and supported by Tiger Global, the capital will help double the credit offering to underserved entrepreneurs and SMEs.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- credit scoring, fintech, MSMEs, startups
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