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Viewpoint: The Ups and Downs of India’s Digital Transformation
In an analysis we wrote in November 2017, we argued that demonetization was only part of India’s larger, strategic digital transformation. Since then, the institutional and economic evolution in India has accelerated in many ways and some of that change has been reactive and corrective.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments
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Micro-Lending Startup Ftcash Raises $7.23 Mn Series A Funding
Founded in 2015 by Sanjeev Chandak, Deepak Kothari and Vaibhav Lodha, Ftcash provides short-term loans to merchants. The startup plans to use the funds to accelerate product development and drive its expansion efforts.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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UK Public Pension Pool Allocates $60m to Private Equity Impact Fund
Brunel Pension Partnership has made a cornerstone $60m (€54m) commitment to a private equity impact fund on behalf of four of its UK local government pension scheme (LGPS) clients.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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As World Burns, Clean Energy Growth Stalls for First Time in Nearly Two Decades
“The world cannot afford to press ‘pause’ on the expansion of renewables and governments need to act quickly to correct this situation and enable a faster flow of new projects,” Fatih Birol, IEA’s executive director, said in a statement.
- Categories
- Energy
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Viewpoint: 3 Reasons the Impact of Microcredit May Be Bigger Than We Thought
There was little evidence of female empowerment. Microloans did foster entrepreneurialism, but at the cost of other sources of income. However, subsequent research has hinted that rumors of microcredit’s demise as a poverty intervention do appear to be exaggerated, perhaps substantially, and I want to present three reasons why the impact of microcredit around the world, while modest on average, is almost certainly bigger than we thought it was a few years ago.
- Categories
- Finance
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Japan’s SoftBank Taps Into Mexican Fintech Startup Clip: Sources
Japan’s SoftBank Group invested about $20 million in Mexican payments startup Clip early this year, one of its first Latin America deals as it launches a $5 billion technology fund in the region, said three people familiar with the matter.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech, startups
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Investing is Moving Beyond Alpha & Beta Says Impact’s Powell
“The investing public is saying we've lost our confidence in Wall Street to generate financial alpha - superior risk adjusted returns,” says Powell. “Asset management is the effective and efficient allocation of capital resources towards society's goals that is traditionally measured by alpha. But if that's gone away, how else can you measure society's goals?”
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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Sustainability Focused Ecosystem Integrity Fund Closes on $100 Million
Investing in disparate sectors like consumer-focused wellness and organic brands and utility-focused software and services may seem like strange portfolio bedfellows, but the portfolio addresses a key issue for early-stage investment firms, which is following where money gets spent.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
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