NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Kopo Kopo Helps Bring Mobile Microfinance to Sierra Leone

Kopo Kopo, a software company that operates a services platform connecting mobile money to microfinance institutions, has partnered withHope Micro and Splash Mobile Money to bring mobile financial services to the country. Hope Micro customers will now be able to repay their loans via Splash Mobile Money, a service that allows users on the top three mobile networks to load cash onto their phones, send money, pay bills, withdrawcash, and buy goods. As a result, Hope Micro customers n...

Source

Mobile-Financial.com (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

MFIs Seen as Way Forward to Boost Housing Supply

The World Bank is calling on microfinanciers to fund housing projects in Kenya to meet the high demand for affordable homes in the low-end market. The Bank said Kenya should take cue from India’s housing microfinancing concept that has already seen development of 20,000 homes for low income earners and is looking to deliver 500,000 units in a few years. Speaking during the launch of the Housing Finance report in Nairobi, Simon Walley of the World Bank said: "We need to w...

Source

Business Daily Africa (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Tags

housing

Friday Roundup – 2/25/11: Exploring the Link between Mobile Money and mHealth

Mobile money and healthcare for the poor have been prominent on the pages of NextBillion and the blogosphere in general this week. In light of these concurrent discussions, I’d like to point your attention to a thought-provoking report that bridges them and analyzes the links between mobile banking and mobile health.

Categories

Uncategorized

Bananas Over Corporate Governance: The 2011 Banana Skins Survey

In the recently published Microfinance Banana Skins 2011, subtitled "Losing its fairy dust," the third annual survey polls microfinance practitioners, investors, analysts, regulators, and other experts on the top risks facing the industry worldwide. Corporate governance is ranked the fourth highest risk - up from seventh a year ago.

Categories

Uncategorized

Tags

financial inclusion, governance, microfinance

Introducing Our New Video Partner, ViewChange.org

When it comes to compelling videos valuable to the NextBillion audience, we just know it when we see it. Trouble is, it takes a lot of time to find relevant video on development through enterprise. Today, we start to remedy this quandary by teaming up with ViewChange.org, a new multimedia site that brings gripping stories from the developing world.

Categories

Uncategorized

Healthcare Series: Integrated Healthcare for the BoP, the Role of Enterprise, Government

Healthcare delivery continues to be a focus for governments as well as BoP organizations given the numerous gaps in providing services and products to the the poor. Living Goods is one enterprise working to sustainably deliver healthcare through micro-franchising to distribute low-cost products door-to-door in the developing world.

Categories

Uncategorized

Healthcare Series: Combining Facilities and Mobile Innovations to Deliver Better Care

Over the past year, I have become increasingly familiar with new mobile health tools that are often not a healthcare delivery system in and of itself, but a driver within that system - increasing the knowledge, efficiency, evidence-base, user experience, and accessibility.

Categories

Uncategorized

Advancing Healthcare: Reaching Into Rural Pockets With A Sustainable Model

In much of the developing world, the poor lack access to adequate health care and are particularly vulnerable to the economic impacts of illness. To explore this situation, new models for health care provision are being innovated. This post explores opportunities for private health care initiatives to address unmet needs in remote and rural India.

Categories

Uncategorized