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UK Pumps £10 Million Into the Kenyan Fintech Scene as It Aims to Increase Financial Inclusion for Low-Income and Underserved Consumers Through Technology
The Catalyst Fund supports business development and investor opportunities for early stage fintech companies in emerging markets. With support from the UK Department for International Development, the Catalyst Fund will help connect a further 30 local fintech companies with international investors and mentors, including Kenyan fintech companies.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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He Revolutionized How Millions of People Spend Money in India. His Next Target: America
In India, Paytm is best known as a one-stop shop for digital payments. You can use it to send money to a friend, like Venmo, or to pay for anything from bus tickets to utility bills using your smartphone.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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EY Fintech Adoption Index: China Tops the List, Japan is Buried at the Bottom. Where Does Your Country Rank?
As smartphones and internet access have become increasingly ubiquitous, digital financial services are soon to appear.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech
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Indonesia issues world’s first blockchain sukuk
Indonesian Islamic microfinance cooperative BMT Bina Ummah has raised 710 million rupiah ($50,000) through the world's first primary sukuk issuance on a public blockchain and also the world's first micro sukuk.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Financial Inclusion Week: Reflection and Action from Three Leading Voices
Today, the Center for Financial Inclusion is wrapping up Financial Inclusion Week. The intention for the week was to ask some soul-searching questions about what it means to be inclusive – and about how financial access in the age of fintech can impact the lives of millions, for good or ill. We caught up with three leading voices in the field, asking each of them three key questions focused on what financial inclusion means to them from a personal, organizational and international standpoint.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment, Investing, Technology
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Citi, OPIC and Ford Foundation Launch Scaling Enterprise, a $100MM Financing Partnership to Support Social Enterprises
Citi Inclusive Finance, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Ford Foundation today introduced Scaling Enterprise, a $100 million loan guarantee facility, which will enable Citi to provide early-stage financing in local currency to companies that expand access to products and services for low-income communities in emerging markets. The announcement was made at the 2019 SOCAP Conference.
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RSF-Purpose Initiative Responds to Demand for Mission-First Business Models
A grassroots global movement is emerging behind mission-first business models rooted in stakeholder governance—rather than shareholder control—and RSF Social Finance and the Purpose Foundation are collaborating to help that movement grow. Today they released a report that serves as a handbook for companies exploring alternative business structures and financing.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing, Technology
- Tags
- business development, ESG, research, scale
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Facebook, Visa among the stocks with high ESG marks — enough to outrun the S&P 500
Companies that improve their environmental, social and governance reputations outperform the S&P 500 — major technology and financial services firms among them.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing
- Tags
- ESG, sustainable business
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