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Moving Beyond Microcredit
Microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus was driven by the idea that many of the world’s poor are entrepreneurs who could bootstrap their way out of poverty if only they had access to startup capital. But in practice, loan recipients are often already in the middle class, at least relative to local standards. And Yunus did not anticipate the practice becoming a commercial one, which he now blames for higher interest rates.
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Can social entrepreneurs drive inclusive growth in India?
Over 60% of the Indian population still lives on less than $2 (about Rs.130 at current rates) a day. In the World Economic Forum’sInclusive Growth and Development Report 2015, India is placed second highest in terms of net income inequality among 34 countries in the lower-middle-income group.
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- South Asia
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Will Southeast Asia Be the Epicenter of Mobile Finance and Commerce 2.0?: Ten takeaways from the Mondato Summit Asia
The Mondato Summit Asia explored the latest concepts and use cases in the mobile finance and commerce (MFC) ecosystem in the region. This post highlights 10 key takeaways from the conversation, as panelists and participants discussed whether Asia was on the cusp of "MFC 2.0."
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Women social entrepreneurs are driving transformation
Globally, societies are riddled with multiple problems and long-standing issues that remain unresolved by the institutions and the government sector. This is where social entrepreneurs step in to challenge, question and rethink concepts and assumptions.
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Manila Hosts Summit on Asia Pacific Financial Inclusion
The Philippines is hosting the inaugural Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Summit from Oct. 27-29 to augment financial inclusion in the Asia Pacific region. It is being held at the Makati Shangri-La in Manila.
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- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: Upcoming IPOs Will Be an Acid Test for Indian MFIs
Between 2007 and now, globally, two microfinance institutions (MFIs) got themselves listed on the stock exchanges. In the next six months, this number will be doubled; it could even be trebled. And, all entities opting for public listing are from India.
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- South Asia
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“Impact Bazaar,” a New Marketplace for Social Innovation, Launches
Impact Hub NYC Initiative Offers Expansive Access to Premium Resources to Accelerate Ideas & Impact.
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(UPDATED) Weekly Roundup 10-2-15: Kiva Zip folds in Kenya – what happened? Updated with a Kiva Zip response
Kiva Zip was launched in 2011 to considerable acclaim, and its dual operations in the U.S. and Kenya appeared to be progressing smoothly. But recently, Kiva Zip announced that it is winding down its Kenyan operations. What happened, and what does it mean for the future of the direct person-to-person lending approach in microfinance? Kiva Zip's senior director responds.
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- microfinance