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ESG is incomplete: An investor’s perspective
While the sweeping uptake of ESG research and ratings within the investment industry is a welcome evolution, many recent adopters use a check-the-box approach. More investors, both individual and institutional, demand that their investments achieve both financial and ethical returns. To cater to this increasing demand, managers are touting the fact that ESG and other sustainability criteria are, at the very least, considered in the investment process.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing
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Ant Financial claims facial recognition first
The company deployed the technology in self-service terminals at a new health-focused restaurant launched by KFC in Hangzhou, China. Named Smile to Pay, the service enables users of Ant Financial’s Alipay mobile wallet service to pay for meals by scanning their facial features.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- digital payments
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Government’s BHIM app to be single point for all mobile payments in India?
The ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) is working on a multi-pronged strategy under which it plans to make the Bharat Interface for Money app, or BHIM, the single point for all mobile payments.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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IntelleGrow launching US$31M venture debt fund to invest in social enterprises
IntelleGrow has already backed 180 companies across agriculture, energy, education, financial inclusion, healthcare, and water and sanitation
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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Blockchain company ConsenSys launches $50m venture capital arm to tackle global challenges
ConsenSys is the brainchild of its founder, Joseph Lubin, who also was a co-founder of Ethereum, a blockchain technology. ConsenSys develops applications and tools based on Ethereum and is a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
- Categories
- Technology
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Huge remittances milestone for Africa as TerraPay gets South Africa license
A mobile payments and remittances startup called TerraPay may have achieved what could turn out to be a huge industry milestone in the remittances space in Africa. The startup announced today that it has secured a license from the Reserve Bank of South Africa to conduct low-value international money transfers in the country.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Vodafone launches financial inclusion project for women
The project would see groups of women under the Village Savings and Loans Scheme and Rural Project Support Network, introduced to financial inclusion opportunities including the use of Vodafone cash.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Peer to Peer Lender Amartha Partners with Largest State Owned Micro-credit Company in Indonesia
Peer to peer lender Amartha has formed a partnership with the largest state-owned micro credit guarantee company in Indonesia, Perum Jamkrindo. This follows a similar partnership with Bank Mandiri. Amartha is an online lender designed to connect Micro Businesses and SMEs that seek affordable working capital with investors who want to fund their business based on credit risk and expected return. This is a significant agreement for Amartha. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and support of small business is vital to the economy.
Jamkrindo is a state-owned enterprise that has been given a special mandate by the Government to guarantee credit and financing, as well as financial transactions particularly in the SME and micro segments. Jamkrindo is the largest credit guarantee company in Indonesia with total guarantee value of more than Rp 270 Trillion and 8 Million credit.- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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