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Central Bank of Nigeria Sets Aside N252 Billion For Women-owned Businesses
According to the CBN , the facility is dedicated to small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), and is meant to deepen and increase access to credit and reduce the high cost of funds for women-owned businesses across the country.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mobile Point of Sale Base Growing Rapidly in Developing Countries
Mobile point of sale (mPoS) growth continues as the technology deepens its reach across vertical industries, merchant tiers and geographies.
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- Uncategorized
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Singapore Fintech Out to Empower Asia’s Unbanked
For most of us including Singaporeans, not having access to credit and debit cards is almost unheard of. Beyond the Little Red Dot though, citizens in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East continue to transact with cash and coins. They are the world’s unbanked who have minimal contact with banks and financial services. Though the unbanked make up about half of the world’s adult populace today, emerging financial technology startups including Singapore fintech startups are amplifying efforts to bring financial inclusion to the unbanked right at their fingertips.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Islamic banking consistently expanding in Pakistan
Last week, the State Bank of Pakistan granted its first license to a micro-finance bank and brought it into the Islamic mode.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Mutual Funds in India Invest $157M in Secured Debentures of Microfinance Institutions
Several mutual funds based in India, including Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Prudential Mutual Fund, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Reliance Mutual Fund and State Bank of India (SBI) Mutual Fund, recently invested in secured debentures issued by several Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs). The issuers include Equitas Microfinance (Equitas); Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS); SKS Microfinance (SKS) and Ujjivan Financial Services (Ujjivan). Although the individual transaction amounts are not available, the investments by the mutual funds total approximately INR 10 billion (USD 157 million). The debentures bear coupon rates of 11.5 up to 13 percent, approximately 3 to 4 percent above than highly rated securities issued by other Indian companies. The securities are backed by receivables and fixed assets owned by the MFIs.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Tencent’s WeBank Finds Sweet Spot in Microloans in China
Seven months after its launch, Tencent-backed (00700.HK) WeBank is showing off some of its first financial accomplishments that hint at the direction it may take as it carves out a place in China’s banking sector.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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Chivas Regal’s Search for World’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs Splits $1 Million Prize Among Five Enterprises
The Venture, Chivas Regal's global search for the world's most promising social entrepreneurs, rewarded all five finalists the remaining share of the $1m fund at the final pitch event on Friday evening. The announcement came after the five finalists pitched the potential of their start-up to create transformative social change to an expert judging panel that included actor and social entrepreneur Adrian Grenier. Algramo from Chile was awarded the largest share of the fund, receiving $300,000 to further develop the pioneering food distribution enterprise.
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- Uncategorized
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Is Bitcoin a Powerful New Friend to the World’s Poor? Some Funders Hope So
A recent Gates Foundation grant was a big milestone for the Bitcoin movement.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- digital payments
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