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India’s microfinance institutions are struggling for survival. Here’s why.
Two decades after India-born Americancitizen Vikram Akula founded SKS Microfinance, which was rechristened as Bharat Financial, the industry that delivered livelihood to millions of poor is facing its pincer moment with private banks giving a big push to micro lending.
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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The First MicroFinance Bank Afghanistan; Mibanco of Peru; and Cooperative Tosepantomin of Mexico Announced as Finalists for European Microfinance Award on Microfinance for Housing
This year, the Award highlights the role of microfinance in supporting access to better quality residential housing for vulnerable, low income and financially excluded groups with no or limited access to housing finance in the mainstream sector. This problem is multi-dimensional: sub-standard housing is not just an identifier of poverty, but rather it is the cause of a host of developmental problems.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Can a UN social impact fund spark further reform at the organization?
A new fund to boost smart affordable housing options in Bangladesh is one of the first major announcements from the UNDP’s SDG Impact Finance initiative — an enterprise that took UNDP’s David Galipeau four years to convince the U.N. it needed.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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How Fintech and Payments Innovations Will Disrupt Global Ecommerce
With the growth of international ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Magento and payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe, the barriers to ecommerce are crumbling, giving life to new businesses, opening up new revenue streams for established players, facilitating economic trade, and driving technology advancements worldwide.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Upaya Social Ventures Selects Next Two Companies for Investment: UpSkill and SMV Green
“We are thrilled to support these two companies as they scale.” Upaya’s CEO Kate Cochran said. “Upaya believes in the power of entrepreneurs to fight global poverty. Mansi and Naveen are exceptional in how deeply they share our commitment to providing jobs and opportunity."
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Salesforce dedicates $50 million to impact investments
Salesforce Ventures — one of the most active investors in the corporate venture capital world — is creating a $50 million fund dedicated explicitly to software startups with working on services for workforce development; tools that promote opportunities for women or under-represented groups; companies creating better access to clean energy options or that improve supply chain performance; and apps that help non-profits or non-governmental organizations achieve their missions and interact with partners, donors and volunteers.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- North America
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Europe lagging in sustainable investment
Investors are also putting their money where their mouths are and allocating increasing sums to sustainable investments. However, this trend appears to be stronger in Asia and the Americas than in Europe.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Flirting with disaster? World Bank’s push for climate insurance questioned
The program marks one example of the Bank’s promotion of climate insurance over the past decade, as part of a wider approach focused on leveraging private insurance and investor markets to increase ‘pre-arranged’ disaster risk financing.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
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