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Unlocking the Unbanked: How cyber ID data can advance financial inclusion and ecommerce in emerging markets
Our financial systems rely on digital information footprints – credit data, banking histories, etc. – to determine whether a person is trustworthy. But many poor people live in a cash economy with no digital record of their financial history, preventing them from transacting with many companies. According to Stephen Ullford, cyber ID data offers one way to bridge this cash-digital divide and expand financial access to the unbanked.
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MFI credit bureau on course in Ghana
Work on a credit referencing system for the microfinance sector is scheduled to be completed by middle of next year, the Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies (GAMC) has said.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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- lending, microfinance
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Meet The Swiss Tycoon Who Is Funding African Innovation
Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, a Swiss-Angolan, is a successful entrepreneur and the founder of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF), a Swiss-based organization that promotes innovation and sustainable development for Africa. The African Innovation Foundation mobilizes innovators across the continent to release untapped potential in Africa, enhancing the way Africans live, work, and learn.
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- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Will There Be Enough ESG Investing Opportunities To Meet Demand?
So-called “responsible” investing is gaining cred both with retail investors and institutional investors. But as Cerulli Associates points out in a recent report, the question is whether growing interest in green or responsible investing will translate into more investible opportunities in this space.
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High Impact Philanthropy Demands Investing, Not Spending: India’s CSR Act is an opportunity for reframing
India’s new Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) Act will make an additional 15,000 to 20,000 crores (US $2.4 to $3.2 billion) available to the development sector. As great as the need is India, Satyam Darmora, with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, I believes the opportunity is even larger — if it is maximized.
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Responsible Pricing, Profits and Self-Regulation in Microfinance: Views from the Smart Campaign
The Smart Campaign offers certification to microfinance institutions that uphold its client protection principles. In the process, it has sparked debate on topics like responsible pricing, appropriate profits and the value of self-regulation. In response to recent criticisms of its certification process, Campaign director Isabelle Barrès lays out its perspective on these three issues.
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Indian government to offer life insurance with new bank accounts through financial inclusion scheme
The government will shortly announce the life insurance cover to be provided to the new bank accounts being opened under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana, a top finance ministry official said today.
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- Uncategorized
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Microfinance Struggling to find its feet in Middle East
Microfinance has blossomed in recent years, helping fill a funding need for businesses too tiny and risky for traditional banks. Curiously perhaps, while microfinance has been a big hit across parts of Asia and South America, its start in the Middle East and North Africa hasn’t been as auspicious.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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