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Weekly Roundup – 11-9-13 – For Sale: Your Future: Should young people sell shares of their future earnings to investors?
Upstart is a crowdfunding company geared toward young people in the U.S. who are struggling with the cost of college education. It’s one of several new companies that allow investors to fund students’ careers, in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings. Is this a welcome innovation meeting a growing demand, or is it exploitation of the heavily indebted youth? We explore the topic in this Weekly Roundup.
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- Uncategorized
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- crowdfunding
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Kenya: Scratch Cards Provide Short Term Savings for Zambian Cotton Farmers
Among problems facing farmers is access to financial services, including banking services and loans. In Bungoma County, Western Kenya, farmers shied away from small and micro financial institutions due to the high cost of loans and high expectations imposed on them. In Zambia, a donor funded pilot project brought in some form of financial inclusion to cotton farmers.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Opening the Curtain on the New 2.0 Era of Impact Investing
Impact investing has not been growing as quickly as many practitioners might have hoped.
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- impact investing
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ADB, IDB Presidents discuss interregional partnership and shared challenges
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno met today to discuss how the two regions can step up joint efforts to tackle shared opportunities and challenges, such as increased economic integration, private sector development, rising inequality, and a lack of opportunities for the poor.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
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Framing the BoP : Dalberg’s Gupta on avoiding negative definitions for BoP business
Gaurav Gupta, Dalberg’s regional director for Asia, says the broader base of the pyramid business space should avoid defining itself from a negative perspective, i.e. failures. Instead we should emphasize strides in reducing the BoP sector as a whole.
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Expert Slams Crowdfunding As A ‘Fad’
Crowdfunding’s dismal record in securing substantial investment for entrepreneurs has made it an unsustainable platform for businesses in the long run, according to a London Business School enterprise expert.
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- crowdfunding
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First women’s bond from World Bank raises $165 million
Bonds tied to social or environmental targets are part of a new trend of social finance, as a growing class of investors seek to bridge the gap between philanthropy and pure financial returns.
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- Uncategorized
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- impact investing
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New Micro Lending Program to Pump Cash into Detroit
Amid the Motor City’s ongoing bankruptcy eligibility trial, the launch of a new lending program is likely welcomed news for Detroit small businesses.
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- Uncategorized
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- microfinance
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