-
Why is Asia lukewarm to sustainable investing?
Investors in Asia, a region made up of numerous emerging markets that have made economic growth a priority, typically take a shorter-term view on investments. Coupled with a lack of government initiatives to drive sustainable investing, Asian investors and their fund managers have lagged far behind their western counterparts in embracing “ESG investing” – the inclusion of companies’ environmental, social and governance performance as criteria in fund allocation decisions.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
-
Bitcoin’s rise in African markets is driven by an old Russian ponzi scheme
Cryptocurrency experts have touted the potential for their tech to transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations: refugees, the unbanked, those living on less than a dollar a day. Yet the story of Bitcoin’s social impact is more complicated than the headlines portray.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Bharti Airtel to acquire Tata’s money-losing mobile unit for nothing
India’s telecoms market, with 1.2 billion mobile subscribers, is in the midst of a wave of consolidation as smaller debt-laden players seek exits after overspending in airwave auctions.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
Reserve Bank of India asks financial firms to make mobile wallets interoperable within six months
“In subsequent phases, interoperability shall be enabled between wallets and bank accounts through UPI. Similarly, interoperability for PPIs issued in the form of cards shall also be enabled in due course,” said the directive issued by RBI.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
-
Press release: Bamboo Capital Partners exits its investment from Vitas Group, a leading microfinance institution in post conflict MENA and Eastern Europe regions
Vitas has grown significantly over the course of Bamboo’s investment. Since 2011, Vitas and its affiliates’ Gross Loan Portfolio increased from $82 million to $247 million and the number of clients has tripled. Currently, Vitas and its affiliates serve more than 112,000 clients while employing nearly 1600 local professional staff.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Releases Open-Source Software to Support Efforts that Expand Access to Financial Services in Developing Countries
Current data from the World Bank shows that nearly two billion people in developing economies lack bank accounts and miss out on the benefits and security that basic financial services provide. Digital financial services, such as mobile money on cell phones, have rapidly expanded over the last two decades because they are convenient for users and cost-effective for companies aiming to serve new markets.
-
Emerging markets drive uptake of digital payments
The World Payments Report 2017, produced by global IT consultancy Capgemini and BNP Paribas, the banking group, also estimates that volumes generated by emerging economies will grow by 19.6% – or three times the rate of mature economies.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
-
Impact Investing — Five Trends Advisors Need To Know
Research shows that clients are interested in impact investing when the options are presented to them, yet many advisors still aren’t sure about it themselves. Here are the trends you need to know.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.