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Microlender Kiva gets $3M grant from Google; Aims to tackle microfinance 2.0
Late last week Google’s philanthropic arm announced it had chosen to give online microlender Kiva a Global Impact Award, which comes with a grant of $3 million.
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- crowdfunding, microfinance
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NexThought Monday 12/16/13: Is India looking at financial inclusion backwards?
Despite the huge potential of solutions like mobile finance and branchless banking, the growth of these services in India has been slow and patchy. But the country’s mobile banking agenda has been driven largely by government-to-person social welfare payments, compelling service providers to start with the toughest market sub-segment – poor rural households. Should India invert its approach and target business segments first?
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Taking a businesslike approach to social woes
'The Solution Revolution' shows how entrepreneurs and organizations are taking on intractable social problems.
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What to consider when setting up a social enterprise in Singapore
A social enterprise focuses on championing a good cause, such as helping the poor or promoting animal welfare. It also aims to be a profitable business, where surplus revenues are ploughed back into growing the company and expanding its activities.
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Weekly Roundup – 12/14/13: LeapFrog Investments’ sale of microinsurer to Prudential might one of biggest exits in impact investing
Impact investor LeapFrog Investments announced this week that it had sold its equity stake in Ghanaian insurer Express Life to Prudential PLC, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. Express Life sells micro-insurance and savings products to 730,000 mostly first-time buyers. For investors seeking a high-potential and highly scalable company that sells affordable goods and services to low-income people, this deal is one to bookmark.
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- impact investing
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Is Bitcoin’s Newest Competitor JPMorgan Chase?
JPMorgan Chase made waves today with the filing — or re-filing — of a patent application for a payments platform that includes “virtual cash.”
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How SME financial access in Africa compares to other developing economies
Africa is the world’s second fastest growing region after Asia, and has seen increasing interest from foreign and African investors. However, access to finance is – in general – still a major limitation for many African small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
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Fighting Poverty with Unconditional Cash
Rather than building schools and clinics, or donating solar lights and cows, is the best way to fight global poverty simply to give poor people money? That’s the question a group of smart economists are testing, and their answers could stand the multi-billion dollar aid industry on its head.
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