NextBillion - A WDI Publication

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• Blog Post
  Marshaling Digital Cash for Humanitarian Challenges: Uniting Private, Public and Nonprofit

  In addressing humanitarian crises, what unites us—a desire to save and improve lives—is greater than what divides us—outdated perceptions of the roles of aid vs. the private sector. By recognizing this, we can use digital preparedness to set building blocks on the road to resilience.

• Blog Post
  Beyond ‘Africa Rising’ – The Emergence of the Not-Quite-Middle Class

  The past five years or so have seen exuberant studies and predictions that Africa’s rapid growth was creating a new middle class that would transform governance and politics – the optimistic story of “Africa Rising.” But what we really see is not a rising middle class but rather a new group that lives on the cusp of poverty, getting by on $2 to $5 a day, and lacking the kinds of assets, job security, purchasing power and stability we associate with middle-class livelihoods.

• Blog Post
  A Bridge Too Far? Bridge International Academies Responds to Ugandan Government’s Allegations and Closure Plans

  The Ugandan government recently announced plans to close Bridge International Academies, the celebrated for-profit school company operating in Africa. Uganda's education minister claims that the schools “showed poor hygiene and sanitation which put the life and safety of the school children in danger.” Bridge vehemently denies these charges, and we talked to the company about where things stand.

• News
  U.S. Court Upholds United Nations’ Immunity in Cholera Suit

  A United States federal appeals panel has upheld that the United Nations cannot be sued in American courts, dealing a setback in a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of cholera victims in Haiti.
  
  

• News
  Uganda: Stop Cheating Clients, Minister Urges Microfinance Institutions

  The minister for Microfinance, Mr Kyeyune Haruna Kasolo, has warned microfinance institutions to stop cheating the general public by charging very high interest rates on loans.

• News
  Bank of Ghana to Approve Interest on Mobile Money Deposits

  The Bank of Ghana will at the end of 2016 give approval for the payment of interest on mobile money deposits in the country. The Deputy Head of Payment Systems at the Bank of Ghana Carissa Kudowor dropped the hint at the MTN Mobile Money Stakeholder Conference in Accra.
  
  

• News
  Viewpoint: The Cost of Sanitary Pads Should Be a Public Health Emergency

  This week fact-checking ninjas, Africa Check revealed that it’s not actually seven million girls who miss school every month because of the inaccessibility of feminine hygiene products. And while the actual number of girls who miss school because the price of pads and tampons is fewer than 7 million, the price of pads and tampons should still be treated as a public health emergency.
  

• Blog Post
  Borrowing and Saving – Not Two Sides of the Same Coin

  From a mathematical point of view, borrowing and saving are mirror images. In both cases many small payments allow for one or more large payouts. Only the sequence differs. But after traveling to India and Kenya as part of a research project, we were struck by vast differences in the way people make borrowing and savings decisions - and these have profound implications for financial service providers.