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Press release: LendingClub Partners with Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle, Increasing Financial Inclusion and Small Businesses’ Access to Credit
Beginning this month, LendingClub will connect applicants looking for a small business loan on its platform to Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle. Opportunity Fund will leverage LendingClub's technology to provide an online application experience with prequalified offers to underserved small businesses before applying its established relationship-based lending model to fund and service loans. Funding Circle will apply its leading proprietary credit assessment process to fund fast and affordable loans to established, creditworthy businesses. This alliance is intended to expand efficient access to affordable credit to a broader range of small businesses.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North America
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Cambodia, Singapore In Cross-Border FinTech Pact
The banks have also agreed to share data on emerging markets. The MOU dictates that the banks will train FinTech startups with an eye on cross-border transactions.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Naspers Arm PayU Buys Fintech Startup Wibmo in $70 Million Deal
Founded in 1999 by Setlur and Veena Mistry, Wibmo provides digital payment security technology in India and other emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech, startups
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Good News for Microfinance: Grameen America Discusses Promising New Research on its Anti-Poverty Impact
In an atmosphere of considerable skepticism about microfinance's anti-poverty impact, Grameen America recently released some positive findings: Early results from an RCT on its group lending model show solid impacts on areas ranging from members' credit scores to their business operations. NextBillion spoke with Marcus Berkowitz, VP of Technology & Innovation at Grameen America, to discuss these results and their implications for microfinance in the U.S. and globally.
- Categories
- Finance
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From Critic to Cheerleader — David Malpass’ First Week at the World Bank
Addressing staff — and then later members of the press — Malpass appeared at pains to show he has little appetite for the kind of organizational shake-up former president Jim Kim undertook early in his first term. Instead, Malpass littered his remarks with references to the bank’s “twin goals” and liberally praised staff and his leadership team.
- Categories
- Finance
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Can Ecsponent Find Profitable Traction at MyBucks?
It seems that under Van Niekerk, MyBucks — like BFS — has found itself under mounting financial stress. MyBucks’ interim results to end-December showed a net loss after tax of €4.8m (R78.2m), with the net asset value of the company negative by €2.56m (R42m).
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- fintech
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Four Reasons Kenya’s Economy Might Not Be as Inclusive as You Think
When it comes to building inclusive economic systems, Kenya is often held up as a global standard. And with 73% mobile money penetration and 82% financial inclusion rates, it's easy to see why. But as Brigit Helms at DAI points out, the “Silicon Savannah” isn't always as inclusive as it seems. She explores four reasons why the country is still falling short in serving its most excluded communities and customers.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Nigeria Establishes Mobile Money Agents Loan Scheme
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced it would facilitate loans of up to NGN500 million ($1.4 million) to mobile money agents and registered companies in the sector as part of a plan to boost financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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