-
Failure to Thrive: Nigeria’s Digital Financial Services Industry is Struggling – Can These Policy Solutions Help?
Nigeria leads all other emerging economies with 21 licensed mobile money operators. But high levels of unbanked and underbanked citizens have led to poor adoption rates for digital financial services. The Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS) initiative of the Lagos Business School has been studying ways to improve customer access and product development. In recently published research, Olayinka David-West and Ubukun Taiwo, both of LBS, reveal six policy recommendations for regulators that could help DFS to thrive in Nigeria.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
-
Viewpoint: Nonprofit Earned-Income Ventures Aren’t Rockets: Another Launchpad Failure
Hailed as a potential game changer, ImpactUs fell apart eight months after opening even though the impact-investing intermediary had the backing of the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Open Road Alliance, Enterprise Community Partners, and City First Enterprises. Another firm is picking up the pieces, so it may not be a total loss, but why did the initial effort flame out so quickly? Here, John MacIntosh advances some tenets for nonprofits to follow to give their venture activities a greater chance of success.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Helping Low-Income Patients Breathe Easier: Three Solutions to Oxygen Market Failures
For a child with severe pneumonia—and every other patient struggling for breath—access to oxygen is a matter of life or death. And even though oxygen is just as important to hospitals and clinics as electricity and water, market failures stand between oxygen and the people who need it. While medicines and vaccines are its primary focus, the global NGO PATH recently zeroed in on how to improve oxygen supplies in low- and middle-income countries.
- Categories
- Health Care
-
When Failure is Hard to Recognize: Facing Hard Truths about Microfinance
After decades of faith in the ability of tiny loans to transform people’s lives, quantitative research has revealed that microfinance rarely lives up to the hype. But in spite of their lackluster impact, microfinance projects have persisted – the question is, why? After seven years of observing various actors throughout the microfinance value chain, Erin Beck, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon, has an answer. She discusses how policymakers, MFI leaders, employees and even customers contribute to microfinance’s persistence.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
Is India’s Demonetization a Failure?
Data released by the Reserve Bank of India indicates that demonetization has failed to flush out black money.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- failure
-
Why Do Social Enterprises Fail? New Research Reveals Three Reasons (And Some Surprises)
In a recent study by the Failure Institute – the research arm of F*ckUp Nights, a global movement that aims to break the stigma around business failure – social entrepreneurs in Mexico gave three primary reasons why their businesses failed: a lack of resources and infrastructure; insufficient public policy support; and a dysfunctional board of directors. F*ckUp Nights' director discusses these and other findings.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
-
Opinion: India’s demonetisation drive has boosted banks and start-ups, but it’s still a failure
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of ₹500 (US$7.40) and ₹1,000 (US$15) banknotes from circulation in November 2016, the government said its demonetisation drive would curb India’s shadow economy and suppress the use of illicit and counterfeit cash in the economy.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- failure
-
Learning From Failure: Lessons From Nigeria About Integrating Technology Into Rural Health Systems
A study showed that most people living in a Nigerian territory lacked access to health care, leading to a radical eHealth pilot project. That pilot failed, but lessons learned ultimately led to a stronger and more sustainable eHealth framework in Nigeria and can help others who hope to integrate technology into health systems, especially in limited-resource settings.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- data, failure, rural development
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.