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‘Inclusion is Not an End in Itself’: Takeaways from MasterCard Foundation’s Symposium on Financial Inclusion
Financial services providers need a mind-shift, says MasterCard Foundation's Ann Miles: They should not only focus on increasing uptake of a new product or service, but on the lifetime value these offerings have for customers. Their goal should be not just to increase access to formal financial products and services, but to help end-users integrate these new tools into their daily lives.
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Demonetization Seems Like Deflation for Many People in India; Danger Signal for PM Modi
Narendra Modi talked emotionally about his commitment to eliminating black money yesterday (13 November) and sought 50 days to fix the cash crisis created by the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Actually, he has far less time than that as the ordinary citizen’s patience is wearing thin after hours of standing in the sun before bank branches or ATMs. Modi has a potential PR disaster and political setback to reckon with.
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- South Asia
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Demonetization Turns Out to Be a Double Whammy for India’s Microfinance Sector
The demonetisation of high-value currency notes has come as a double whammy for micro finance institutions (MFIs), which have temporarily stopped providing credit to their customers while loan repayments have also taken a major hit, industry sources said.
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- South Asia
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India’s microfinance firms scramble to react to government’s ban on high-value currency
Microfinance companies, which work in the grassroot level and handle cash more than any other institutions, are in complete quandary on what strategy they should adopt now as far as accepting high value currency notes goes.
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- South Asia
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- microfinance
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Kenya urged to adopt Islamic Microfinance to tackle poverty
Participants in the Global Islamic Microfinance Forum at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi. Kenya has been urged to adopt Islamic microfinance business models to help lift many families out of poverty and boost financial inclusion of disadvantaged groups in the country.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Pro Mujer Announces the Retirement of Co-Founder Lynne Patterson
Pro Mujer announced the retirement of its Co-Founder and Director Emerita Lynne Patterson, whose vision of a world where all women thrive gave birth to Pro Mujer 26 years ago. Since Patterson and Co-Founder Carmen Velasco joined forces in El Alto, Bolivia in 1990, the organization has grown to serve more than 250,000 women and their family members annually across five countries in Latin America, and has positioned itself as a thought leader on women’s empowerment and financial inclusion in the region.
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- Latin America
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Poor people’s access to financial services on the rise in India
A financial survey of four poor states of India—Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh—has revealed that access to formal banking outlets is not as difficult as had been in the past and an increasing number of people are being financially included.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zombie Banks Stalk Africa With Mergers One Way to Limit Risk
Africa’s many small and under-capitalized banks, laden with bad debt, are inflicting more pain on already embattled economies.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa