NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Indian Mobile Bank Eko Raises $5.5 Million Processing $270 Million

Innovative mobile banking platform Eko India Financial Services has raised $5.5 million from Creation Investments’ Social Venture fund, Promus Equity Partners and several unnamed angel investors. Mobile banking is one of the most exciting trends in the tech world outside Silicon Valley. And now that more people have mobile phones than toilets in the world, there’s a real chance at bridging the unbanked gap. Forget glitzy iPhone financial apps. The most innovative stuff is mobile...

Source

TechCrunch (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Oikocredit USA Names Sharlene Brown National Director

Washington, DC (PRWEB) July 11, 2011 As Oikocredit USA seeks to expand its mission in this country, it has named Sharlene Brown as the new National Director. Brown, a social investor and microfinance expert, will help position Oikocredit USA for growth as the organization prepares for the retirement of its current Executive Director, Terry Provance, in September 2012. Brown and Provance will work closely together over the next year of Oikocredit’s transition of leadership. Bro...

Source

Benzinga.com (link opens in a new window)

Solar Sister Wants to Light Up Rural Africa

One-year-old start up Solar Sister is using cosmetics company AVON’s model to distribute solar energy in Uganda , Sudan , and Rwanda . To learn more about the "business in a bag" model that’s giving rural African women ...

Source

The Christian Science Monitor (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

RBI to Regulate Microfinance Sector, Says New Bill

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday released the draft Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, which seeks to make it mandatory for all microfinance institutions to be registered with the Reserve Bank, making it the sector regulator. The Bill in its earlier avtar had proposed that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will be the regulator of the sector. The government had introduced the Micro Financial Sector B...

Source

The Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Blackstone to Invest $34 Mln in India’s FINO

(Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group said on Thursday it will invest 1.5 billion rupees ($34 million) in FINO, an Indian technology solutions provider for banks, microfinance institutions and insurance companies. Existing investors in FINO include HSBC , ICICI Bank and Intel Capital, according to the website of the company that was set up in 2006 and is based in Mumbai. Private equity de...

Source

Reuters (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Banks Asked to Up Credit Flow to SMEs

While bank advances were growing above 20 per cent yearly, lending to small and micro enterprises (SMEs) should also grow at a decent pace, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told banks in the annual review meeting of its standing advisory committee on SMEs on Tuesday. "Credit growth is more than 20 per cent, higher than RBI’s projection. In Tuesday’s meeting, the focus was that micro credit also should grow. Banks will try to see how to step up credit, especially to small manufact...

Source

Business Standard (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

WB to Give $1 Bn for Rural Livelihood Programme

NEW DELHI: The World Bank has approved $1 billion credit for National Rural Livelihoods Project ( NRLP )), which it said will aim at strengthening the implementation of the newly launched National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). NRLM is one of the world’s largest poverty reduction initiatives costing approximately $ 7.7 billion, aiming to reach 350 million people. The World Bank will help the Indian government create institutional platform by mobilising rural...

Source

The Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Teatulia: A Tea Company Helps Lift a Village Out of Poverty

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- For some businesses, giving back means making a tax-deductible donation to a local little league team. But for Teatulia, an organic tea company, giving back means creating a better life for a community halfway around the globe. The two-year-old startup has done what many companies cannot or will not, which is marry a revenue-growing business with a thriving social responsibility program. The Denver company sells organic tea that is now sold in Whole Foods an...

Source

CNN Money (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia