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Women Leaders, Women Lenders: Why Impact Investing Should Follow Microfinance’s Lead on Female Empowerment
Women have been an integral part of microfinance since the very beginning. But though the percentage of women in top leadership positions in microfinance institutions is high compared to the rest of the global banking sector, it’s still lower than women’s proportion of the overall population – and far lower than the percentage of female clients served by these institutions. Abiskar Shrestha, a senior investment officer at MicroVest Capital Management, explores how the sector can boost female leadership – and how investors can help.
- Categories
- Investing
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Press release: IFC invests $100 million in Mahindra Finance for loans to farmers
“Since its inception in 1991, Mahindra Finance has been working in the rural and semi-urban areas of India, catalyzing financial inclusion of the unbanked and under-served communities and also partnering with them in their difficult times. Our focus has been on enabling these customers with innovative financial solutions, tailor made to their evolving needs” said Ramesh Iyer, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Finance.
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- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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Don’t Throw the Banks Out with the Bathwater: Why the 2017 Findex Shows Opportunity for Microfinance Institutions
The World Bank's most recent Global Findex report has cast significant doubt on the lofty goal of universal financial access by 2020. Signs point to the slowing of financial inclusion in many places, raising questions as to how regulated microfinance institutions should respond to the emergence of mobile money and other fintech disruptors. After examining the numbers, here’s why Scott Graham of FINCA International argues that traditional banks still serve a vital purpose.
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- Finance
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The Quadrennial Quandary: Mobile financial inclusion still on an upswing, but women still face connectivity challenges
Going forward, the report highlights that the continuous involvement of businesses will be vital for unlocking opportunities to enhance financial inclusion.
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2020 Financial Inclusion Target Not Feasible, Says Central Bank of Nigeria
The NFIS had set two financial inclusion targets for the year 2020: an overall financial inclusion rate of 80 per cent of the adult population and a formal financial inclusion rate of 70 per cent of the adult population.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Flipkart Seeking NBFC License; Soon to Venture into Fintech Space
Flipkart is in news again as the e-commerce giant is all set to step its foot in the fintech space with the company now planning to offer credit and insurance products to its customers and sellers.
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- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Kenyans start paying more for mobile money transactions following tax increase
Safaricom, which runs the popular mobile money service Mpesa, on Saturday, informed its customers that starting Sunday, its tariffs would go up.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NextBillion is on Vacation – Check Out Our Top 10 Recent Posts
With the Independence Day holiday this Wednesday, it's summer vacation time for much of the U.S. - and NextBillion is no exception. Since our editors will be enjoying some time off this week, we won't be publishing new blog content until next Monday, July 9. In the meantime, we've compiled 10 of our most-read recent posts, including some of our more thought-provoking content of the year. We hope you enjoy them, and we look forward to bringing you more original analysis and insight from the world of social business next week.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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