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MFIs Seen as Way Forward to Boost Housing Supply
The World Bank is calling on microfinanciers to fund housing projects in Kenya to meet the high demand for affordable homes in the low-end market. The Bank said Kenya should take cue from India’s housing microfinancing concept that has already seen development of 20,000 homes for low income earners and is looking to deliver 500,000 units in a few years. Speaking during the launch of the Housing Finance report in Nairobi, Simon Walley of the World Bank said: "We need to w...
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- housing
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Grameen Bank Founder Yunus Survives Attempt to Oust Him
Muhammad Yunus , the Nobel prize winning founder of the Grameen bank in Bangladesh , has survived an attempt to oust him from ...
- Region
- South Asia
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How the Poor Can Least Afford Bad Design
You could call Jan Chipchase the Indiana Jones of product design. He lives in Shanghai, has a Japanese wife and just returned from a research trip in the north of Uganda, an area recently controlled by the notorious military group the
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India Budget to Help Microlenders
MUMBAI -India’s finance minister Monday announced the creation of a 1-billion rupee ($22 million) equity fund for microfinance institutions, a step that will provide the much needed financial support to smaller players. "The microfinance institutions have emerged as an important means of financial inclusion. Creation of a dedicated fund for providing equity to smaller MFIs would help them maintain growth and achieve scale and efficiency in operation," Pranab Mukherjee said whi...
- Region
- South Asia
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The B-Town Doctors: Big Hospitals In Small Towns
Divya Raman, 35, goes to her friendly, neighbourhood family physician in Koramangala, suburban Bangalore, whenever her family members fall ill. But this is not an average neighbourhood clinic. The walls are a warm magenta and yellow, there is enough space to sit and, most importantly, it is clean. "It is better than regular clinics, as it is clean and you do not get put off by a crowd," says Raman. Manipal Hospital would be happy to hear Raman’s response. For the last two month...
- Region
- South Asia
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Why We Need Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East
The tremors shaking the Middle East have not fully subsided, but the ominous question already looms: What comes next? Much of the media focus has been on political reform, as tyrants are toppled and drama unfolds with the suspense of a Hollywood movie, but the demands of protestors have been clear: They want political and economic reform. Very little attention, as yet, has been paid to the...
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- North Africa & Near East
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Chevron foundation, USAID give Nigeria $50M
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Chevron Corp.’s foundation and USAID are to pour $50 million into Nigeria’s impoverished delta where militants have kidnapped foreign oil workers and demanded that more oil profits come back to the region, the U.S. oil giant said Thursday. Chevron’s Niger Delta Partnership Initiative and the U.S.-government funded USAID will each invest $25 million toward the development of the region over the next four years. The money will support programs desig...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Ethiopia Launches Industry Extension Service Package Targeting SMEs
In an attempt to replicate success stories from its ’Agriculture Extension Program’, which has been showing some good results in changing the lives of poor farmers, the Ethiopian government launched today ’Industry Extension Service’ package targeting urban Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs). Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions will provide the new service package, which targets solving all the major headaches of SMEs...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa