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Blog Post
To reduce the economic impact of COVID-19, the Indian government has transferred money into women’s bank accounts. But as Prabhat Labh at Grameen Foundation India and Sourajit Aiyer at South Asia Fast Track Sustainability Communications point out, the rural population often struggles to access those funds. They explore how the Grameen Mitra model leverages a network of village-based women to get cash transfers to where they're needed most.
The Power of Local Women: An Innovative Social Capital Model Addresses Rural Financial Inclusion in India During COVID-19News
An analysis of financial inclusion in South Africa shows that affordability limits poor households’ access to formal financial services. In our study, which looked at people’s use of financial goods and services between 2008 and 2015, we found that there was a general increase in use. But this was severely skewed to households with higher incomes.
Viewpoint: South African Banks Need to Do More to Ensure Financial InclusionNews
The COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the rise of industrial automation and enable manufacturers in developed countries to compete with low-cost labour in the developing world; multinational corporations are already considering repatriating some manufacturing production as a result of the unprecedented disruption the pandemic has caused to global value chains; developing countries must respond by developing local industrial capabilities with new technologies and skills that will allow them to become more integrated into world trade.
Press Release: Developing Countries Could Lose Out as Automation Competes With Low-Cost LabourBlog Post
In light of the George Floyd killing and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black communities, many are searching for ways to address systemic racism in the U.S. According to Tynesia Boyea-Robinson at CapEQ, one way to do this is to support and invest in Black businesses. She explores how investments in these businesses could add $55 billion to the U.S. economy and create 600,000 new jobs.
How to Fix Capitalism: Start by Seeing Black Businesses as the Investment Opportunity They AreShaida Badiee
Blog Post
Pay-for-success models have generated considerable excitement in the social finance sector. But according to Akhil Pawar and Geet Kalra at Yunus Social Business, the approach presents several challenges, mainly around the question of who will pay, and how to ensure an economical structure. They share a potential solution that leverages retail giving, substituting large donors with small ones by using "social derivatives."
Innovating on the Pay for Success Model: How ‘Social Derivatives’ Can Unlock Everyday Giving to Incentivize Greater ImpactNews
Visa push payment services will be available on the Careem Pay Super App for Captains to make low-cost money transfers.
Press Release: Careem, Visa, Sign Partnership to Accelerate Cashless Payments and Digital Financial Inclusion Across MENABlog Post
Since COVID-19 began, the energy company Bboxx has been monitoring payment trends among its 250,000+ pay-as-you-go solar customers in 12 emerging markets. Analysts at Bboxx assess the data from four African countries, exploring what it says about the pandemic's impact on solar electricity users – and about how to support these customers during the crisis.
The Impact of COVID-19 as Seen in Solar Payment Data – and How One Off-Grid Energy Company is Responding
