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India’s ZestMoney Raises $20m to Grow Its Digital Lending Service
The round is led by Quona Capital, a stealthy Washington-based fund that invests in emerging market fintech and has an office in India.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Vietnam Telcos Ready to Pilot Mobile Money
The three operators have submitted applications to launch mobile money services that will allow customers to transfer money using mobile phones, including Vietnam's unbanked population.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press release: LendingClub Partners with Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle, Increasing Financial Inclusion and Small Businesses’ Access to Credit
Beginning this month, LendingClub will connect applicants looking for a small business loan on its platform to Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle. Opportunity Fund will leverage LendingClub's technology to provide an online application experience with prequalified offers to underserved small businesses before applying its established relationship-based lending model to fund and service loans. Funding Circle will apply its leading proprietary credit assessment process to fund fast and affordable loans to established, creditworthy businesses. This alliance is intended to expand efficient access to affordable credit to a broader range of small businesses.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North America
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Cambodia, Singapore In Cross-Border FinTech Pact
The banks have also agreed to share data on emerging markets. The MOU dictates that the banks will train FinTech startups with an eye on cross-border transactions.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Good News for Microfinance: Grameen America Discusses Promising New Research on its Anti-Poverty Impact
In an atmosphere of considerable skepticism about microfinance's anti-poverty impact, Grameen America recently released some positive findings: Early results from an RCT on its group lending model show solid impacts on areas ranging from members' credit scores to their business operations. NextBillion spoke with Marcus Berkowitz, VP of Technology & Innovation at Grameen America, to discuss these results and their implications for microfinance in the U.S. and globally.
- Categories
- Finance
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Four Reasons Kenya’s Economy Might Not Be as Inclusive as You Think
When it comes to building inclusive economic systems, Kenya is often held up as a global standard. And with 73% mobile money penetration and 82% financial inclusion rates, it's easy to see why. But as Brigit Helms at DAI points out, the “Silicon Savannah” isn't always as inclusive as it seems. She explores four reasons why the country is still falling short in serving its most excluded communities and customers.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Nigeria Establishes Mobile Money Agents Loan Scheme
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced it would facilitate loans of up to NGN500 million ($1.4 million) to mobile money agents and registered companies in the sector as part of a plan to boost financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kenya, Rwanda top region in financial inclusion
Kenya and Rwanda have the highest proportion of their adult populations accessing financial services, a newly-published report says, making them East Africa’s most financially inclusive economies.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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