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IFC to lend $100m to Indonesian bank BTPN
Indonesia’s Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN) will receive $100 million in loans from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), according to a filing. The loans will be used to fund the growth of BTPN’s micro, small and medium enterprises businesses (MSMEs). It will also be channeled to women borrowers.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments
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Indian Pharma Eyes Pride of Place, Regulation Achilles Heel
India is on track to cement its position next year as a source of safe, effective and quality medicines at affordable prices, but a "growing trust deficit" with the government and regulatory headwinds can pose a serious roadblock to this journey.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Demonetisation and digital transactions will never stop corruption in India. Here’s why.
If digital transactions could curb corruption and black money , Kenya would have be en the most transparent country in the world. About 75% of the adult population in Kenya uses mobile phones for payments and money transfer. The value of mobile money transactions and transfers per day is equal to 4.5% of annualised GDP of Kenya, as per a report published in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) journal.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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India adding 1 million new m-wallet users every day
India is adding about a million new mobile wallet users every day, according to industry sources. The rapid increase in new users comes on the back of the cash crunch, which has hit the country, following the government’s move to demonetise 500 and 1,000-rupee banknotes. The situation is likely to take more time to normalise.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
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India’s Largest Mobile Wallet App Disappears From the App Store
With new users comes new responsibilities. India’s largest mobile wallet app is quickly realising this in both good and hard ways.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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Health Insurance Collections Jump Over a Fifth in a Year
From specialised packages to lifelong cashless cover, more and more Indians are buying health insurance products.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Where Science, Schools, and Social Entrepreneurship Meet
In a small workshop, hidden away on Pune’s NDA road, a demonstration is under way. A supervisor draws diagrams on a white-board, watched closely by a group of four or five employees. Shelves line the walls, displaying a variety of science models on bases made of black acrylic fibre; more acrylic sheets are stacked to one side; a DC motor vies for space with a conductivity tester, a beam balance and a large yellow plastic ball (intended to explain how the human retina functions). All told, this workshop produces 81 such models, covering around 540 concepts of science for students from the third to the tenth grade.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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10 Lessons From Impact Investing in India
10 years, US$ 50 million, over 50 investments. Those numbers don't tell the whole story of Michael & Susan Dell Foundation's journey in India. Since the foundation began its work in India in 2006, with the goal of eradicating urban poverty through its focus on education and family economic stability, it has focused on scalable solutions supported by a combination of grants and impact investments. Our impact investing evolution is reflected in both the organisations and projects that have scaled up as well as our learnings along the way.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- impact investing
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