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Viewpoint: Can the Microcredit Model Be Improved?
Microcredit is frequently touted as an effective policy tool to fight global poverty. But studies suggest that the long-term impact on recipients’ lives is limited. Yale SOM’s Mushfiq Mobarak and the University of Chicago’s Vikas Dimble write that microcredit can help more people by modifying and extending its model.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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Equity Bank, Safaricom in a New Financial Inclusion Union
“At Safaricom, we are continuously driven to explore new ways to provide our customers with the best possible experience on our network. As we continue on our journey to become a more widely accessible digital platform, symbiotic partnerships like this one will unlock new opportunities for our entire ecosystem to benefit from enriched innovation – all based on a socially conscious business model,” said Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India Unseats China as Asia’s Top Fintech Funding Source
Like China, India’s enthusiasm for finance technology is in part a result of the country’s lack of financial infrastructure. Lending startups are gathering steam as they, like their Chinese counterparts, tailor services to the country’s large unbanked and underbanked consumers and enterprises.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, startups
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Visa, PalmPay To Drive Financial Inclusion In Nigeria, Others
Visa, the global payments technology company and PalmPay, a new player in Africa’s Fintech industry, have announced a partnership to advance financial inclusion across Africa through access to digital payment services.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How the Tiny African Nation of Djibouti Became the Linchpin in China’s Belt and Road Plan
Ideally situated with good harbours, this remote country is helping China protect its growing interests as the vast infrastructure strategy takes hold.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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WorldRemit Is Working With Paga to Roll out International Digital Money Transfers in Nigeria
WorldRemit is expanding its service offering beyond bank transfer and airtime top-up to include mobile money service. The partnership with Paga will allow WorldRemit customers in over 50 countries to send money directly from their phones to 11 million Paga mobile money accounts in Nigeria.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kiva’s Co-Founder Is Joining This Leo DiCaprio-Backed Bank
A wave of tech-centric “neo-banks” have popped up in recent years, usually promising a smoother customer experience marked by lower fees and branch-less, online-oriented services. And some have sought to go even further—differentiating themselves from the competition via a focus on on socially and environmentally conscious values, investments and product offerings.
- Region
- North America
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Viewpoint: We Need to Talk About Credit
In the past five years, we have seen a lot of change in how credit markets are developing, not least because of the rapid growth in digital credit associated with mobile financial services. But how much do we actually know about digital credit? And how does it relate to other types of credit in the markets we care about? How is this new availability of credit contributing to the ability of low-income people to seize opportunities and manage risks?
- Categories
- Finance