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Leveraging Financial Inclusion to Promote Economic Development in Egypt
Egyptian policymakers are facing a significant challenge: how to address acute economic challenges while managing ongoing political and social transitions.
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Faith and Finance: The director of an Islamic microfinance institution discusses the challenges of mixing business and religion
In Kyrgyzstan, over 85 percent of citizens are followers of Islam, and many seek to run Halal businesses. So offering Shari’a compliant financial services just makes sense. But Kompanion Invest, the country’s only Islamic microfinance institution, is facing challenges as it tries to achieve full Shari’a compliance. The company’s director discusses those challenges, and the broader Islamic microfinance sector, in this frank Q&A.
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“Locavesting” Meets Crowdfunding Meets Social Entrepreneurship
What better way to strengthen communities, while empowering regular people to support nearby small businesses, than by helping individuals fund local entrepreneurs?
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Banks in Nepal are building interoperable mobile money offerings
In Nepal, two 3rd party initiatives are attempting to bring together the banks and offer the tools needed for them to successfully operate mobile money. The banking sector in Nepal is fragmented with not one bank having double digit market share.
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Expanding mobile money programmes in Kenya
Over the past six years, Kenya has posted significant growth in mobile phone financial services – a sector that it has in many ways helped to pioneer – and the medium-term outlook looks equally encouraging as operators move to offer traditional banking products such as savings accounts and loans. With the sector gradually converging with conventional financial services, the central bank is moving to strengthen its regulatory oversight, which could alter market dynamics.
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- mobile finance
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Should non-bank financial institutions be a part of the financial inclusion agenda?
Deposit-taking non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), such as microfinance institutions (MFIs), financial cooperatives and postal banks, together serve approximately 596 million people in the global south. These institutions have many of the characteristics which research shows are key drivers for expanding access and reducing poverty.
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The Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance: From Harvard Business School and Accion
The six-day Harvard Business School–Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance offers leaders from around the world an exceptional opportunity to connect with peers while engaging with some of the HBS faculty’s foremost thinkers in business strategy and management.
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How Small Savings Can Replace Small Borrowing: A well-designed savings product can help low-income consumers avoid costly short-term credit
Everyone is taught that it’s good to save money for a rainy day. Yet low-income people often struggle to save, leading them to turn to more expensive options like high-interest payday loans. But recent research from Doorways to Dreams shows that a well-designed savings product can dramatically help these consumers reduce their reliance on costly short-term credit.
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