-
Helping Farmers Rebuild After Civil War Isn’t Charity; It’s Good Business
As an agribusiness owner in Africa, GADC founder Bruce Robertson has grown weary of the silver bullet solutions proposed for transforming rural economies. In 22 years in Uganda, he has yet to see a quick fix. But private enterprise has enormous potential to improve rural lives when donors and businesses collaborate, he says, explaining GADC's "replicable model with huge potential for expansion."
- Categories
- Agriculture, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
-
Good Intentions Are Not Enough: How Microfinance Can Truly Serve Low-Income Women Entrepreneurs
Smaller businesses require smaller loans, which are generally less practical or profitable for financial institutions. Group lending solves these issues for institutions – but it’s not always ideal for customers, who often prefer an individual loan. With support from MetLife Foundation grantee Women’s World Banking, Egypt’s Lead Foundation set out to design and deliver this type of product – specifically to low-income women entrepreneurs.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
The Entrepreneurial Case for Tech Investing in Emerging Markets
Africa’s tech ecosystem is huge, yet it barely scratches the surface when compared with those of China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets. In 2006, India and China accounted for only 2 percent of global-deal value. More than a decade later, the two biggest emerging markets now account for nearly 25 percent, with India and China firmly on the list of the top 20 startup ecosystems in the world.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
-
Lenddo and EFL join forces
Financial SaaS company Lenddo and Entrepreneurial Finance Lab have merged in an effort to provide a menu of credit scoring and identity verification products to 20-plus emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Press release: FINCA Accelerating Financial Inclusion Through FinTech Innovation In Tanzania
Hundreds of thousands of low-income people have gained access to financial products including credit, savings and money transfers through leveraging of technology to bring financial services closer to the unbanked.
Despite these significant developments, full financial sector integration continues to elude Tanzania, and the argument is that to promote and sustain financial inclusion growth there must be mobilization of savings to allocate them to households, businesses, and government for productive investments.- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
IndusInd Bank announces takeover of micro finance lender Bharat Financial
Chairman of the bank, R. Seshasayee, said the two boards met independently this morning and decided to go ahead.
It would help develop reach and would be a strong partnership. The two institutions had worked together for many years and were, therefore, comfortable with each other's people and culture, he said.- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
The Financial Lives of Struggling Americans: The Financial Diaries and The Unbanking of America
Elisabeth Rhyne of the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion reviews two new books that take a look Americans' increasingly precarious financial lives. Both books examine America's top economic challenge – the crumbling of the economic foundation for many working-class and middle-class families – and they do so through the lens of financial services, an unusual but revealing perspective, Rhyne writes.
- Categories
- Finance
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.