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Kiva Winding Down Kenyan Operations of Peer-to-Peer Microfinance Lending Platform Kiva Zip
Kiva, a US-based microfinance intermediary, recently announced that it is winding down its peer-to-peer microfinance lending platform Kiva Zip in Kenya. Since its inception in 2012, Kiva Zip has enabled users to lend directly to microentrepreneurs in Kenya and the US. Loans in Kenya are distributed through M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service. Most of Kiva’s loans differ from those through Kiva Zip in that they are intermediated by microfinance institutions. As of 2015, Kiva Zip had received deposits from approximately 8,000 direct lenders and disbursed the equivalent of USD 1.8 million in local currency to approximately 6,500 borrowers in Kenya. As of the same date, Kiva Zip reported a repayment rate of 91 percent [1].
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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- lending, microfinance
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Three Finalists for the 6th European Microfinance Award Announced
On Tuesday 22nd September, the Selection Committee for the 6th European Microfinance Award on Microfinance in Post-disaster, Post-conflict Areas & Fragile States, composed of members of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu),) selected the three finalists who will go on to compete for the €100,000 prize. These three organisations are Crédit Rural de Guinée from Guinea, The First Microfinance Institution from Syria and Taytay Sa Kauswagan Inc. from the Philippines. The winner will be announced by the President of the High Jury Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg on November 19th, at a ceremony hosted at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, during the annual European Microfinance Week.
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Microfinance and Payday Loans: How Paytm’s Payment Bank Will Be ‘Different’
"There's so much scope for digital payments, and there are enough unbanked even in the city, that you can tap into with only a little effort," says Nitin Misra, who heads Paytm's payment product pipeline. "We can offer a lot to the unbanked and the underbanked, and for the small percentage of the population that is actually fully banked, we offer safety and convenience."
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Small Finance Banks Will Shift Focus of Microlending Away From Dedicated MFIs, Says Domestic Rating Agency in India
Small Finance Banks (SFBs) will shift the focus of the microlending business away from the dedicated micro finance institutions (MFIs), domestic rating agency India Ratings said today.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Research on Microinsurance Explores How to Tap This “Unconventional Market”
Asia accounts for 80% of the global microinsurance industry, followed by Latin America and Africa with 15% and 5% respectively, according to ILO and Munich Re. Asia had the highest number of people with microinsurance cover, at 170.4 million in 2012.
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Mixed Fortunes for Agents as Customers Embrace Direct Cross-Border Mobile Money Transfer Service in Rwanda
Electronic payment systems, like mobile money services, have become one of the most convenient ways of paying utility bills, as well as sending money to the remotest village and buying top-up airtime. From students to the working class, traders, and peasants, anyone with a mobile money service registered cell phone number is one only an agent-away from receiving their cash.
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- Uncategorized
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New MasterCard-SMU Program to Help Promote Financial Inclusion in Asia Pacific
MasterCard and the Singapore Management University (SMU) today announced the launch of a two-year Social and Financial Inclusion Programme.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Small Foundations Are Embracing Impact Investing
Paperwork and bureaucracy aren’t just pains in the backside of everyone working at every small business or smaller nonprofit. They’re also barriers to entry — for new people, new ideas and even new sources of capital.Crowdfunding might help level the playing field, but even that has a new set of challenges and limitations. When it comes to improving our cities, who knows how many opportunities to try out new approaches or scale up existing models are falling through the cracks?
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