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First-of-its-kind development impact bond launched in Cameroon to save newborn babies
The Cameroon Kangaroo Mother Care Development Impact Bond (Cameroon KMC DIB) aims to reach more than 2,200 newborns with life-improving care. Money will fund scale up of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) in Cameroon to help newborns survive and thrive.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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This new form of currency could transform the way we see money
CBDC may be issued for general use (“retail” CBDC) for peer-to-peer payments and payments from consumers to merchants; or for use by commercial banks and clearing houses (“wholesale” CBDC) for more efficient interbank payments that occur outside traditional correspondent banking and other payment systems.
- Categories
- Finance
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Major New UN Report Calls for Overhaul of Global Financial System
The report is a joint product of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development, which is comprised of more than 60 United Nations Agencies and international organizations.
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Kenyans turn to friends, relatives as lenders shy off
“Friends and family are the main financial solutions used by [a] majority of Kenyans when they run out of money to meet their day-to-day needs,” the survey found.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Winning the War on Poverty
According to recently released data, between 2015 and 2017, Canada reduced its official poverty rate by at least 20 percent. Roughly 825,000 Canadians were lifted out of poverty in those years, giving the country today its lowest poverty rate in history.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North America
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Mobile Lending App Branch Partners With Visa, Announces $170 Million In Fresh Funding
Branch International, a fintech startup that assesses creditworthiness using smartphone data, has raised $170 million in Series C financing and announced a new partnership with Visa.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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OPIC commits $8 million to support small farmer microlending in Myanmar
Proximity Finance, which designs its loans to meet the particular needs of smallholder farmers, is the microfinance arm of Proximity Designs, a social enterprise dedicated to serving Myanmar’s rural families.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Don’t Fear the Algorithm: The Risks and Benefits Of Machine Learning in Finance
Billions of people around the world lack access to basic financial services, and far too many promising entrepreneurs are deprived of financial opportunities simply because they don’t have a credit history. As JUMO founder and CEO Andrew Watkins-Ball sees it, this lack of access is fundamentally a technology problem – and machine learning can help solve it. But algorithm-assisted banking is not without risks: Watkins-Ball discusses its benefits and downsides, and how it's powering JUMO's work in Africa and Asia.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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