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Financial Inclusion During – and After – COVID-19: Three Takeaways From a (Very Different) European Microfinance Week 2020
The 2020 European Microfinance Week encapsulated much about the financial inclusion sector – the good, the bad and the simply confusing – as it navigated the historic challenges of the past year. Sam Mendelson at e-MFP shares three broad takeaways from the event, representing three key priorities for the inclusive finance industry as it seeks to adapt to the COVID-19 crisis – without overlooking other essential priorities.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Mekong Capital Annouces US $246 Million Investment Fund in Vietnam
The fund will focus on retail, education, restaurants, consumer services, FMCG, and health care.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Announcing NextBillion’s Most Influential Articles of 2020
At the end of each year, NextBillion selects 12 of our most-read articles from the previous 12 months, then invites readers to vote for the piece that impacted them the most. We've tallied up the votes, and as 2021 begins we're happy to announce our three most influential articles of 2020. We'd like to thank all the guest writers who contributed articles to NextBillion last year, to congratulate the winners and other contestants in this contest, and to thank everyone who took the time to vote. Best wishes for a safe, happy and prosperous 2021.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Press Release: DFC and Rockefeller Foundation Sign MOU to Invest in Solutions to End Energy Poverty
The MOU seeks to achieve economies of scale by bringing together two major initiatives: The Rockefeller Foundation’s Powering an Inclusive Covid-19 Recovery and DFC’s Roadmap for Impact, the agency’s new strategy for maximizing its development impact.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy
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Bangladesh Garment Suppliers Hit Hard by Late Payments
47 percent of businesses admit to paying suppliers late, data from the Tungsten Network and the Institute of Finance and Management (IOFM) revealed, as recently reported by Material Handling & Logistics News.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Brainly Raises $80 Million as Its Platform for Crowdsourced Homework Help Balloons to 350 Million Users
Brainly, a startup from Poland that has built a popular network for students and their parents to engage with each other for advice and help with homework questions, has raised $80 million, a series D that it will be using both to continue building out the tools that it offers to students as well as to home in on expansion in some key emerging markets such as Indonesia and Brazil. The news comes on the heels of dramatic growth for the company, which has seen its user base grow from 150 million users in 2019 to 350 million today.
- Categories
- Education
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Press Release: Visa and Visa Foundation Extend Support of Minority-Led Small Businesses
“The capital gap for entrepreneurs of color must be closed if we are to achieve inclusive economic growth for everyone, everywhere,” said Graham Macmillan, president, Visa Foundation. “Visa Foundation is privileged to partner with these organizations that are addressing this funding and opportunity gap by helping them to empower women, Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. These grants represent just the beginning of our commitment to allocate capital, both grants and investments, to gender and racially-diverse investors and entrepreneurs."
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Bayer Steps up Its Commitments to Support Smallholder Farmers in Asia
The Better Life Farming Alliance (BLFA), Bayer’s global, multi-stakeholder partnership model that provides holistic and innovative solutions for smallholder farmers in developing economies, has launched in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Asia Pacific