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Indian Microfinance Institutions Want RBI, Not Mudra Bank, as Regulator
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are worried about the government's decision to set up the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency, or Mudra Bank, to regulate them as there could be a conflict of interest. They want the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) to continue as their regulator.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance, regulations
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85% of Kenyans Have Adopted Electronic Payment Products, Says MasterCard Study
Eighty five percent of Kenyans have adopted electronic payment products including bank accounts, mobile phone, prepaid cards or other payment products, according to a new study by MasterCard.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India’s SKS Microfinance: Back From the Brink
SKS Microfinance Ltd, one of the largest microfinance companies in India, was a model for many other firms in the sector. Established by financial services professionals, the company was once considered the answer to India’s financial exclusion problem. While SKS has been through its fair share of struggles in the last four years, things are starting to look better for India’s only listed microfinance company.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Survey: 57% of Institutional Investors Believe ESG Has Positive Impact on Returns
Some 57% of asset owners and other institutional investors surveyed believe incorporating ESG into alternative investments decision-making has a positive impact on risk-adjusted returns, said a report Monday from Mercer and LGT Capital Partners.
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- Investing
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This Poo Powder Aims to Help India’s Diarrhea Problem
An organic mixture made of coconut, rice and lemons is under development to help limit the spread of diseases associated with open defecation and diarrhea in a country where more than half of the 1.2 billion population relieve themselves outside.
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- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Sunlabob Renewable Energy Receives $2.1 Million Investment
Sunlabob Renewable Energy, a Laos-based group that specializes in bringing clean energy solutions to rural communities, has this week secured an impact investment of $2.1 million to enable it to expand its off-grid programs in Asia, Africa and the Pacific region.
- Categories
- Energy
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On the Path to End Tuberculosis: How Social Franchising Can Effectively Engage Private Practitioners
Over the past 20 years, that rallying cry has gone from fantasy to imperative. Since the advent of the World Health Organization’s directly observed treatment strategy in 1995, more than 61 million people have been successfully treated for tuberculosis, and new TB cases and TB-related deaths are on the decline. Furthermore, countries have achieved the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the TB epidemic by 2015. Thus, today, we have important successes to celebrate. Ending TB is within reach.
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- Health Care
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Funding for Financial Inclusion Rises to $31 Billion in 2013
Global investment in affordable financial services for the poor has risen by an average seven percent per year since 2011, a World Bank think tank said in a survey released on Wednesday.
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- Uncategorized