NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Pak to be Leading Recipient of UKAID Next Year

KARACHI: Pakistan will be biggest development programme partner of UKAID next year, said Andrew Mitchells, UK Secretary of State for Department of International Development (DFID). "The biggest development partnership programme that Britain will have next year in the world will be in Pakistan and it is designed to help children get into the schools," he said after inaugurating a mobile banking franchise of private mobile telephone company here on Wednesday in cooperation with Tameer-e-P...

Source

Business Recorder (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Safaricom ? 56% Growth in M-PESA Revenue

Last week, Safaricom announced its annual results [1] . It has confirmed an increased turnover (+12.9% to Ksh. 94.83bn). However, after several years of sustained growth, Safaricom experienced a 12.4% drop in profits before tax due to increased competition. Nevertheless, a more interesting figure to highlight is the 56% growth in M-PESA revenue for the year 2011. With almost 14 mil...

Source

Mobile-Financial.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Microfinance for Water and Sanitation: Lofty Dream or Wave of the Future?

The microfinance sector is certainly not short of innovative thinkers, who should be applauded for their determination to use microfinance as a diverse tool that can do more than just increase a household’s income. The latest craze in the creative use of microfinance as a generator of positive externalities is the use of microcredit for the provision of clean water. The idea is to provide individuals and households in the developing world with microcredit services that would a...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

LeapFrog to Invest up to $40 Million in India

MUMBAI --LeapFrog Investments, a $135 million fund focused on micro-insurance, is looking to deploy as much as $40 million in India. "India presents an opportunity as the level of penetration of insurance is very low," said Jim Roth, the company’s co-founder and partner. In other markets, insurance is for the wealthy, whereas in India there is insurance that focuses on the mass market, he said, adding that LeapFrog will invest between $5 million and $20 million in a company. M...

Source

The Wall Street Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Major Microlaboratory Against Poverty

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 31, 2011 (IPS) - Microcredit in Brazil still has huge potential for expansion, even though microloans have already grown much more than traditional credit in the last eight years. Microcredit has formed a successful part of anti-poverty programmes since left-wing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2003 and immediately launched the National Productive Microcredit Programme, targeting low-income households. ...

Source

IPSnews.net (link opens in a new window)

Region

Latin America

Ashoka, Bamboo Finance, Canopus Fdn. Launch Solar Energy Fund

Press Release: Three of the world’s leading organisations supporting social enterprise for development today announced that they are forming a partnership to launch the ’Oasis Energy - Solar for All Fund’, which will invest in companies bringing affordable solar power to markets that are without access to electricity. Ashoka , the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs, and the Canopus Foundation , whi...

Source

Press Release

Categories

Uncategorized

The Path From Charity to Profit

By Tina Rosenberg On Tuesday I wrote about Kedai Balitaku , a for-profit company started last year by the development group Mercy Corps in Indonesia. Mercy Corps took...

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Asia Pacific

AFDB Approves Financing for Nigerian SMEs

The African Development Bank has approved a total of $700 million worth of loan programs to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria. Of the sum, $500 million will be channeled through Nigeria’s Bank of Industry and will be available for domestic-oriented SMEs in the African country. ...

Source

Devex News (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa