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The Long Game: How Developing Countries Can Get Microfinance Right
In developing economies such as Myanmar, microfinance is often viewed as a means for lifting people out of poverty. As of 2015, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) comprised 99% of the country’s businesses, and many of those are micro-businesses.
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- Uncategorized
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African tax authorities consider how to boost revenue
The report argues that if tax revenue grows faster than the economy, African nations will have greater funds at their disposal for public investments in areas such as education and health care.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Tata Trusts’ FISE to raise $30 mn to fund social startups
The fund claims to be the country’s first-ever technology-focused fund investing in high-impact social enterprises. Called Social Alpha Fund-1, it is the third tier of the Social Alpha stack being built with Tata Trusts and the Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (FISE), said Manoj Kumar, co-founder and chief executive of FISE.
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- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Return on Equity for Indian Microfinance Companies to Turn Negative in FY 2018, says Rating Agency
The rating agency expects net interest margins for micro finance companies to decline to 80 to 100 basis points. Operating expenses are also likely to increase due to investments to be made on information technology and collections infrastructure by most players.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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Stanford, De Beers launch $3m African entrepreneurs initiative
The Stanford Graduate School of Business and De Beers Group have announced a three-year, US$3 million partnership aimed at empowering young entrepreneurs and owners of established businesses in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa through two new educational programs.
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- Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why Financial Advisors Are Still Reluctant to Jump on ESG Bandwagon
Asset managers and major brokerages think there’s big money to be made shilling these funds to advisors, with the likes of BlackRock, Bank of America and UBS highlighting the growing acceptance and mainstream popularity of SRI and “impact investing” strategies.
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- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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Study finds microfinance can help, even if goals aren’t met
"We can't just think about what the projects are doing for people but should also examine what people do for projects," Beck said. "We need to look at how policies get transformed on the ground."
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
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Amazon bets big on mobile payment wallet in India
The US e-commerce giant has secured payment wallet license from Reserve Bank of India, struck partnerships with various players for its Amazon Pay.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech