-
Report: Cambodia’s ‘Reckless’ Microfinance Industry Puts Economy at Risk
The groups' study, "Collateral Damage," questions whether the industry's reported nonperforming loan rate of 1.8% is kept low by such "human rights abuses" while highlighting the multimillion dollar returns made by microcredit institutions and their shareholders.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
NilePay Mobile Money Launches in South Sudan to Widen Financial Inclusion
“NilePay Mobile Service’s partnership with Zain South Sudan is part of the company’s long-term strategy to enable eCommerce and digitize financial services across the country,” said Darius Mobe, Director, NilePay Mobile Money.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
South Africa Fintech Startup Jumo Appoints Africa and India CEOs
The startup said in a statement today that the appointments come as part of a new organisational structure to support JUMO’s expansion into new markets in Africa and Asia.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, startups
-
Mercy Corps, MTN Liberia Launch Mobile Payment for PayGo Solar Systems
PayGo enables households to buy quality solar systems and pay in installments instead of outright upfront payment. So far, partner private sector distributors have installed over 1,100 pay as you go systems, improving the lives of rural dwellers, particularly those with children of school-going age.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
What’s the Point of Investing in Financial Inclusion? A New Review Aims to Help Investors Maximize Their Impact
Is social investment in financial systems and services justified? It's a natural question when considering the financial inclusion sector’s development, say Timothy Ogden at the Financial Access Initiative and Machal Karim at CDC Group. And it’s not just critical microcredit studies that have raised the question: The history of social investment in financial systems doesn’t yield many obvious success stories. They discuss a new review of the theory and empirical evidence – both positive and negative – for investing in financial systems as a development strategy.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Viewpoint: Regulators Walk the ‘Mobile Money’ Line
Banking-by-phone is on the rise, and so are the risks of anti-competitive behaviour and money laundering.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Cashless Payment Booms in China and India Spell End of the ATM
Driving the decline in brick-and-mortar financial services is the fall in cash transactions and growing use of cashless payments, including credit cards, contactless payments, cryptocurrencies and fintech-based services.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech
-
Jamaica Wants To Expand Agriculture, But Agribusinesses Are Finding It Impossible to Access Capital
Due to limited access to financial markets and a lack of legally recognized ownership of land, female-led agribusinesses are even more financially vulnerable.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- North America