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NexThought: From Soap to Cassava – Mentoring Makes the Difference
Cynthia Ndubuisi Mene’s biodegradable liquid soap business, Ever Glow, enjoyed early success in her home country of Nigeria. But as she looked to expand, she sought the guidance of a mentor and found one through the MicroMentor.org network. Her relationship with a former UPS president has not only helped her scale EverGlow, but has led to new business opportunities.
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Indian MFIs Face Legal Hurdles in Plans to Track Borrowers’ Credit Histories Through National IDs
Microfinanciers’ plans to check Aadhaar numbers to ensure potential borrowers aren’t already loaded with loans may come undone after a recent interim ruling by the Supreme Court restricted the use of Aadhaar data to ration shops and cooking gas.
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- South Asia
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- lending, microfinance
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A Short Holiday for the NB Team:
So that NextBillion's editorial team can enjoy the Labor Day holiday here in the United States, we are taking a little break. NextBillion will resume publication on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
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Funding for Indian Startups Won’t Dry Up: Omidyar’s Roopa Kudva
Roopa Kudva, 51, took charge of the India operations of New York-based impact investor Omidyar Network in early July.
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- South Asia
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Viewpoint: Costly Cash
Suppose there were a way of getting money to some of the world’s poorest people precisely when they need it. Suppose, too, that the flow hardly ever diminished, even during a global financial crisis. Finally, suppose the cash could not be creamed off by corrupt local officials. Surely every right-minded government in the world would want to encourage this and make it as cheap and easy as possible?
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Will India’s New Focus on Financial Inclusion Pay Off?
When India launched the Jan Dhan (people’s wealth) program a year ago, many observers regarded it as an experiment that would fail. But while the program may not have measured up to the claims of its proponents, evidence shows it has had some positive impacts.
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- South Asia
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Viewpoint: The Case for Islamic Microfinance in Africa
Professor Badr El Din A. Ibrahim, President of the Microfinance Unit at the Central Bank of Sudan, discusses why Shari'ah-compliant financing is key.
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- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mobile Lender InVenture Raises $10 Million
InVenture Capital Corp., a provider of small loans by cellphones, has raised $10 million in Series A funding, Yuliya Chernova reports for Dow Jones VentureWire. The company has a mobile app that can be downloaded by users, who then can request a loan. Once the user has granted the app access to their device, the company’s algorithm evaluates the activity on their mobile money accounts, such as how much they deposit and withdraw, the timeliness of their utility bill payments, and thousands of other nuggets of information such as social media, demographic, and communications patterns, to make a loan decision in minutes. The company currently operates in Kenya and Tanzania. Data Collective led the Series A round, which includedLowercase Capital, Collaborative Fund, Female Founders Fund and individual investors.
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