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Grameen Bank to be Controlled Directly
The government is finally bringing the Grameen Bank under direct control of the central bank, to give the authorities more powers over the microcredit organisation. The decision is in line with the proposals of the government-sponsored Grameen Bank Commission, which recommended bringing the bank under the regulatory control of either the Bangladesh Bank or the Microcredit Regulatory Authority to better monitor its activities.
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- Uncategorized
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- microfinance
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Nigeria: Insurance Sector Can Enhance Economic Growth – NAICOM
The National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, has said that the country is much likely to attain a sustained economic growth and development if it can adapt its insurance industry with innovative ways that will bring on board the generality of the country's population. Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel stated this at the sensitisation workshop for stakeholders on key initiatives of the Commission held in New Karu, Nasarawa State last week.
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- Uncategorized
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Microloans Typically Used to Alleviate Poverty Abroad Surging in Silicon Valley
When Silicon Valley small businesses needed an influx of cash, and fast, they didn't find help at a bank. They turned instead to a type of financing more commonly associated with buying a sewing machine for a Guatemalan tailor or a tractor for an African farmer. Microlending, a decades old form of financing for the world's poorest, is now booming in Silicon Valley.
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- Uncategorized
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- microfinance
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Kenyans Find the Unintended Consequences of Mobile Money
In Western Kenya, “Sambaza” is both a marketing slogan and means for despair. It means “to spread.” Vodafone-owned Safaricom, the dominant mobile provider in Kenya, uses it as a brand name for a service that allows customers to transfer airtime to each other. According to a new study funded by the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMFTI), the word has also come to refer to the way money in a mobile account slips away, drip by drip, as friends and family ask for favors.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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New Report: Bringing Impact Investing From the Margins to the Mainstream
The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, today launched From the Margins to the Mainstream: Assessment of the Impact Investment Sector and Opportunities to Engage Mainstream Investors. The report provides a market assessment and recommendations for how mainstream investors can more actively engage in impact investing.
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- Education
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- impact investing, research
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Crowdfunding’s Evolving: The Next Big ‘Profitable’ Thing
It seems like ages ago that nascent start-ups like Facebook (FB_)and LinkedIn (LNKD_) were reinventing how billions of people around the globe would stay both socially and professionally connected. Fast forward to today and we're witnessing the progressive unfolding of one of the most democratic ways for individuals and start-ups to fund their ideas and enterprises.
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- Uncategorized
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- impact investing
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Comment: Rebranding disease to launch global change
A little over a year ago, a group of young people – connected by a passion for addressing the leading cause of global deaths – had an idea. Re-brand the way we perceive a group of conditions, and the narrative we collectively conjure when hearing their name – Non-Communicable Diseases. Challenge the current, misguided perception that diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancers are simply the result of poor choices and laziness, and instead use inspiring stories from young health advocates to paint an accurate global and local picture.
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- Health Care
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- public health
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Unequal Access to Health Care in Latin America No. 1 Killer of Moms & Kids
An international delegation recently concluded their meeting on infant and maternal health in Latin America. The conclusion – unequal access to health care is still the number one killer for mothers and their children. While child mortality has more than halved in the region according to the World Bank, children from impoverished homes are five times more likely to die before they turn five years old. The majority of those deaths deemed preventable. Over the past 20 years significant improvements have been made on maternal health and mortality rates have dropped by 40 percent.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- public health
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