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Report: Mobile Money Driving Financial Inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, together with the Mastercard Foundation, have released a new report today, 16 May 2018 in Nairobi, documenting the transformation underway in financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Smart Campaign Reaches Milestone with 100 Certifications in Financial Consumer Protection
The Smart Campaign, the leading industry voice on financial consumer protection, housed at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, announced today that 100 financial service providers (FSPs) have attained Smart Certification, a landmark achievement in responsible financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Finance
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Blockchain for Agriculture: Improving Supply Chain Efficiency and Access to Finance for Smallholder Farmers
Though blockchain applications in agriculture are still in early stages, they have intriguing potential that merits increased investment and exploration, says Nikki Brand. She discusses several innovative uses of the technology across the agriculture supply chain, and highlights new Stanford University research on the organizations and initiatives that are leveraging blockchain to drive social impact.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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India’s Impact Investment leaders launch Social Finance India in New Delhi
Social Finance Global Network (SFGN) and The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) today announced the launch of Social Finance India (SF-IND) and first three of its Directors- Rajiv Lall, Ashish Dhawan, and, Vikram Gandhi. Rajiv Lall will Chair the initiative. SF- IND will be a new Section 8 non-profit intermediary which will galvanize the Indian impact investment space. Social Finance India’s first two products- India Impact Fund of Funds (IIFF) and India Education Outcomes Fund (IEOF) will launch in 2018. SF-IND also launched its website, www.socialfinance.org.in
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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IIM Amedabad’s CIIE launches $25 million Bharat Inclusion Initiative
IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) has launched the Bharat Inclusion Initiative, with a commitment of $25 million from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Omidyar Network and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. The initiative will focus on incubating and backing startups that work in areas such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Blockchain-Based Platform Aims to Protect Intellectual Property of Emerging Markets Inventors and Entrepreneurs
With access to more than 1.5 million devices in 105 countries, plus another 44 million that are under contract to go live by the end of 2018, Spire (SPI), the token that powers UpChannel's mobile dApp marketplace and Android hardware wallet, and Loci (LOCI), a blockchain-based intellectual property (IP) platform, announced their plans to empower and protect inventors and entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
- Categories
- Technology
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More College = Less Poverty: The Impact of Peer-to-Peer Lending
More than 57 million students globally are qualified but have not enrolled in higher education, mostly because they lack the money. Yet banks often don't want to lend to them, due to their lack of collateral, uncertain earning potential and long repayment periods. That’s why Ryker Labbee and Kirk Acevedo launched peer-to-peer student lender Zomia, targeting nearly 1 million potential college students in Myanmar and Cambodia. They explore how the model could scale into other markets and reduce poverty.
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Ghana unveils mobile money interoperability platform
Mobile money interoperability went live in Ghana following a number of delays, a step hailed by the country’s Vice President for propelling the country into one of the global leaders for the technology.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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