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Vikram Akula’s Next Big Gig
On January 29, the board of SKS Microfinance, the country's only listed microfinance entity, approved the company's proposal to apply for a licence to set up a small finance bank, a new category of lenders that the Reserve Bank of India has created to drive financial inclusion. A few kilometres away from the SKS office in Hyderabad, Vikram Akula, who founded the company in 1997 and had to unceremoniously exit in 2011, is giving final touches to the application for a small finance bank for his start-up VAYA Finserv.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Microfinance Strikes Deep Roots in West Bengal
The Indian microfinance sector has found a new Andhra Pradesh in West Bengal. The sector, which has not been able to see any business in the state of Telangana and AP, has seen brisk business in this eastern state, piping other southern states as well.
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- Uncategorized
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- South Asia
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Viewpoint: ‘The Day I Nearly Gave Up’ – Social Entrepreneurs Share Their Battle Stories
The journey of a social entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. Many give up on the struggle and many live to tell the tale. The only difference between the two is the never give up attitude. It doesnt mean that they are immune to the downs or not think of giving up, but they never actually do give up. I had the great opportunity to moderate a session on this very topic “The day i nearly gave up” with my fellow social entrepreneurs Neelam Chibber (Mother Earth/Industree Foundation), Madan Padaki (Head Held High/ GAP), Amit Jain (eHealth Point) and G Srinivasan (Rural Shores) at a panel put together by NASE during the Annual AFI forum at Infosys Campus, Bangalore.
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- South Asia
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The Rising Global Health Crisis No One Is Talking About
torcyclists can seem invincible as they dodge and weave their way through traffic and zip down alleyways. But beyond a motorcycle’s quick and convenient capabilities is a dark story: a developing global crisis of road fatalities.
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- Health Care
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- South Asia
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Neeti Kailas: Crafting Affordable Health Care Through Design
Call it providence. Twelve years ago, Neeti Kailas happened to walk the corridors of Ahmedabad’s Vikram Sarabhai Hospital. She was a student of product design then, at the National Institute of Design (NID) and was trying to ascertain potential project ideas—design problems she could find solutions to. That walk turned out to be a game changer. All around her, she could see things that needed fixing. Kailas decided that she was the woman for the job.
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- Health Care
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- South Asia
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Nandan Nilekani Plans Tech Project ‘Ek Step’ to Hone Children’s Basic Skills
Infosys co-founder and billionaire Nandan Nilekani, who spearheaded the country's massive unique identification project, is gearing up for an equally ambitious project - to help elementary school children across the country improve their reading and arithmetic skills using low-end tablets and smartphones.
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- Education, Technology
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- South Asia
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Grameen Bank Goes Under Full State Control Today
With the tenure of the nine elected female board members having expired today, Nobel winning micro-credit organisation Grameen Bank will now be run by government-appointed board members.
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- Uncategorized
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- South Asia
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Bangladesh’s Political Turmoil Taking Its Toll on Small, Medium Businesses
The ongoing political turmoil continues to take its toll on the small and medium businesses who have borrowed money from micro finance institutions (MFIs) as the big MFIs have tightened their vigilance fearing the future impact on loan recovery.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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