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Research Consultant Celent Predicts $20 Billion Microfinance Market by 2008
The report, released by Boston-based Celent , is titled Microfinance: What Role for Commercial Banks??. ? It sees the microfinance market growing from its current $11 billion to $20 billion by 2008. ? The self-financed study found that commercial banks are most suited to provide microfinance to the poor. ? The reasons...
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The bitter cost of ?fair trade? coffee
?No certifier is able to check that at no time are workers paid below minimum wage,? says Luuk Zonneveld, Managing Director of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) in Bonn. ?This issue comes up everywhere. Poor people struggle to pay their workers fairly.? The FT?s findings cast doubt on the certification process. ?The low pay issue wasn?t picked up in our audit because it wasn?t done at harvest season,? says Chris Wille, Chief of Sustainable Agriculture at Rainforest...
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Global mobile phone connections hit 2.5bn
According to the latest figures, over the four quarters to the end of September 2006, a total of 484m net additions were added to the worldwide total with 41 per cent of new connections coming from Asia Pacific. Eastern Europe and Latin America together accounted for 30 per cent of the growth, while Africa was responsible for 10 per cent of new connections. ?The cellular industry took 20 years to reach one billion connections, three years to reach two billion connections and is on target t...
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Rural, thrift banks get guide to SMEs, ?good borrowers?
IN ITS effort to help provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a foreign-funded project has developed a set of directories of SMEs in the Visayas that rural and thrift banks can approach for financial assistance. N ITS effort to help provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a foreign-funded project has developed a set of directories of SMEs in the Visayas that rural and thrift banks can approach for financial assistance. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustaina...
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Nokia Sells Handset In India At Lowest Global Price
Finland’s Nokia has started selling a CDMA mobile handset model in India at less than INR2,000 ($43), its lowest ever price point globally for the handset. Reliance Communications, India’s second-largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, will partner Nokia to market the 1255 handset model in India. NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- Finland’s Nokia has started selling a CDMA mobile handset model in India at less than INR2,000 ($43), its lowest ever price point globally for the...
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Foreign Aid Fails Poor Countries — Economic Freedom is Key
Once greater economic freedom is taken into account, poor nations, far from being caught in a poverty trap, grow faster than rich nations. What the research in this edition of Economic Freedom of the World suggests is that economic freedom, rather than foreign aid, does have a powerful positive impact and is a better approach, says co-author of the report, James Gwartney, professor of economics at Florida State University. Economic freedom is unambiguousl...
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?The most preferred exit option for SMEs would be through an IPO?
What is the investment philosophy you follow while investing in SMEs? Our investment objective is to identify high-growth sectors with global competencies, select rapidly growing companies within these sectors having sound management and proven, sustainable and scalable business models. We take up significant minority stakes in these companies so as to have a board seat representation to participate proactively in the value building process of these companies over a period of 3 to 5 y...
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Rural life insurance rules to be tightened
Comparatively high premiums, inflexible payment terms and incomprehensible policy clauses are the major problems, said Zhou Fuping, a researcher at the CIRC, adding most insurers made little or even no changes to policies in rural areas. To give farmers more choices, insurers are encouraged to offer more affordable policies and easy to understand clauses when entering the rural market, said Gong. We will soon embark on a pilot programme that differentiate...
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