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Reserve Bank of India to Hike Limits for Priority Sector Lending, Allow Inter-Bank Bond Investments
Indian banking regulator has proposed to hike the eligibility criteria to classify a loan as priority sector lending (PSL) which is expected to particularly boost microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Driving Financial Inclusion at 4G Speed
Base-of-the-pyramid financial services providers in emerging markets are increasingly using data analytics to pioneer new products for reaching the unbanked. Alifinance in China is using the underlying transaction data of vendors on the giant online platform Alibaba to underwrite small business loans. M-Shwari in Kenya leverages M-Pesa's mobile money data for short-term, unsecured credit. Cignifi analyzes cell phone usage to provide credit as well as savings propensity scores. Lenddo uses online social network data for credit risk assessment. Similarly, a number of companies including Tiaxa and MODE use cell phone data to extend immediate nano-credits to prepaid customers who run out of airtime balances.
- Categories
- Technology
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Heifer Awarded $750,000 From Starbucks Foundation to Support Coffee Farmers in Tanzania
Heifer International was awarded a Starbucks Foundation grant of $750,000 to help fund the Mbozi Farmer Livelihood Improvement Project in Tanzania, which will help improve livelihoods and quality of life for smallholder coffee growing communities in the East African country.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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Study: Zambia’s Malaria Success Story Masks Basic Health Failures
A new study reveals that while Zambia has made great progress against malaria over the past decade or so it was losing ground on many other health needs like basic child immunizations and maternal health care.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Obgyn Training in Sub-Saharan Africa Bolstered By New Collections Shared Both Online and Offline
U-M’s 1000+ OBGYN Project provides free access to educational materials to support ob-gyn training in Africa for improved maternal, newborn care.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Saving Lives By Making Malaria Drugs More Affordable
Forty percent of all malaria-caused deaths in sub-Saharan Africa occur in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization. The private sector "supply chain" manages 74% of the drug volume in Congo and 98% in Nigeria where malaria-stricken patients rely on "drug shops" and other for-profit retail outlets to get life-saving medicine.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Here Are Nine Ways to Deal With Delhi’s Air Pollution—But You May Not Be Able to Afford Any of Them
Delhi’s air pollution hit new highs last winter, giving the city, at least briefly, the worst air quality readings of any place on earth.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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10 Impact Investors in India That You Should Know
Out of the total 1.3 billion population in India, around 80 per cent are living in poverty. There are some companies in India — both in the tech and no-tech segments — helping this large segment to address various problems related to irrigation, lending, travel, education, etc., by providing cost-effective solutions. These impact ventures are getting financial assistance in the form of grants or funds from various investment firms, called Impact investors.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia