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Vikram Akula’s Next Big Gig
On January 29, the board of SKS Microfinance, the country's only listed microfinance entity, approved the company's proposal to apply for a licence to set up a small finance bank, a new category of lenders that the Reserve Bank of India has created to drive financial inclusion. A few kilometres away from the SKS office in Hyderabad, Vikram Akula, who founded the company in 1997 and had to unceremoniously exit in 2011, is giving final touches to the application for a small finance bank for his start-up VAYA Finserv.
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- South Asia
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Zimbabwe: Mobile Money Drives Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion in Zimbabwe increased to 77 percent in 2014 from 60 percent in 2011 mainly driven by mobile money platforms, the FinScope Consumer Survey has shown. According to the survey, which was launched yesterday, 45 percent of the population (3,15 million) is registered with mobile money platforms. Of those who are registered users, 80 percent use it to remit while 46 percent use it to transact in order to pay utility bills, buy airtime, etc.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Microfinance Strikes Deep Roots in West Bengal
The Indian microfinance sector has found a new Andhra Pradesh in West Bengal. The sector, which has not been able to see any business in the state of Telangana and AP, has seen brisk business in this eastern state, piping other southern states as well.
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- South Asia
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Africa Tech Trends: The Age of Start-Up Accelerators
Start-up accelerators are common in Europe and the United States, where the likes of Y Combinator and Startupbootcamp have emerged as leaders in the model and have offered hundreds of start-ups both equity funding and mentorship to assist them in scaling. But in Africa the concept is still very young, having only really arrived in 2012.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Of Social Business Ventures and Islamic Principles
Interest in the area of social entrepreneurship has gained momentum in recent years. Many studies have been commissioned in this area, including comparative studies to clarify the concepts of conventional entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, and also social entrepreneurship with not-for-profit activities such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, charity and voluntary work.
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- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: ‘The Day I Nearly Gave Up’ – Social Entrepreneurs Share Their Battle Stories
The journey of a social entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. Many give up on the struggle and many live to tell the tale. The only difference between the two is the never give up attitude. It doesnt mean that they are immune to the downs or not think of giving up, but they never actually do give up. I had the great opportunity to moderate a session on this very topic “The day i nearly gave up” with my fellow social entrepreneurs Neelam Chibber (Mother Earth/Industree Foundation), Madan Padaki (Head Held High/ GAP), Amit Jain (eHealth Point) and G Srinivasan (Rural Shores) at a panel put together by NASE during the Annual AFI forum at Infosys Campus, Bangalore.
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- South Asia
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Rwanda: New Strategies Needed to Attract Small Savers to Invest in Shares
It had been a 'bad' trading year. The balance sheet was deep in the negative, following heavy investment in restructuring, rebranding and repositioning.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Inequality Has Actually Not Risen Since the Financial Crisis
The notion that income inequality has continued to rise over the past decade is part of the conventional wisdom. You’ve no doubt heard versions: The rich just keep getting richer. Inequality is higher than ever. Nearly all of the gains from the economic recovery have gone to the top 1 percent.
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