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Viewpoint: The Markets Are Collapsing: Will Microfinance Save Us Again?
Global markets have evolved, and the reality is that we are now more connected than ever. Should investors look to microfinance again as a safe haven? In order to answer that, we need to understand how microfinance and impact investing are connected and how they are different.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Coronavirus is Shining a Light on America’s Lack of Paid Sick Leave: Here’s How Savings Can Help
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, public health authorities are encouraging people to stay home if they're sick. But for many U.S. workers – especially those with lower-incomes and gig economy jobs – taking a sick day is unpaid, so staying home has serious financial implications. Timothy Flacke at Commonwealth highlights this challenge, and discusses how innovative savings solutions can help.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Health Care
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Crypto Titans Announcing Libra Clone Targeting 5.6 Billion for Financial Inclusion
Coinbase Ventures, Bitcoin.com, Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain are among the leading technology providers, nonprofits, mobile wallets, payment processors and global investment firms supporting the new ecosystem that plans to offer mobile-friendly financial tools built on top of Celo’s open blockchain platform.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Mastercard Report: Pay-on-Demand Will Drive Financial Inclusion in Africa
The Pay-on-Demand solution model will continue to drive digital and financial inclusion across African countries, according to a recent research report released by MasterCard.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- financial inclusion, MSMEs
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How Can Fintech Startups Address the Financial Inclusion Gap? Three Insights from the Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech
In 2018, over US $110 billion was invested in fintech startups – up 120% from 2017. But will this capital help deliver affordable and accessible solutions to low-income customers at scale? Chrissy Martin Meier at MIX explores why standardized data can highlight gaps in investment, surface promising companies, and more effectively measure inclusion – and how MIX's Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech advance those goals.
- Categories
- Finance
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Crypto Titans Announcing Libra Clone Targeting 5.6 Billion for Financial Inclusion
Move over Libra. Facebook’s controversial stablecoin initiative has a new challenger that wants to change the financial system and reimagine how people can gain access to services. Fifty top companies in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry have launched a new platform called Celo, an open blockchain that’s designed to drive significantly more financial inclusion by reaching people around the world – not through banks, branches and traditional institutions – but through 5.6 billion smartphones.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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A Spotlight on Effective and Inclusive Savings
Saving for an unpredictable future is one of the few genuinely universal life tenets. But for much of the past 40 years, the microfinance sector has focused overwhelmingly on credit. As Sam Mendelson and Daniel Rozas at e-MFP explain, that's one reason the 2020 European Microfinance Award is focused on “Encouraging Effective & Inclusive Savings.” They discuss the benefits of savings in introducing the €100,000 award – which is open for applications until April 15.
- Categories
- Finance
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Accion, Quona Launch Us$203 Million Fund to Promote Financial Inclusion
This is Quona’s second fund and it has been christened as the Accion Quona Inclusion Fund.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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