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Don’t Fear the Rate Cap: Why Cambodia’s Microcredit Regulations Aren’t Such a Bad Thing
The Cambodian government recently shocked its microcredit industry by capping interest rates at 18 percent – about half the current rate of most loans. Many analysts sympathetic to the industry have strongly criticized the move, but Milford Bateman argues it's actually an important step in protecting the poor – and resolving an "existential crisis" in a sector plagued by unsustainable growth and high over-indebtedness.
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- Uncategorized
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JazzCash partners with Women’s World Banking to serve low-income women in Pakistan
JazzCash, Pakistan’s digital financial service provider, and Women’s World Banking, a global non-profit organization, have announced a partnership to promote women’s financial inclusion across Pakistan.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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As Delhi hikes minimum wage, trade unions urge other Indian states to follow
A "historic" move to raise the minimum wage of millions of Delhi's poorest workers by almost 40 percent should be extended to other parts of the country to fight exploitation, trade unions and rights groups said on Tuesday.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Indonesia on Track to Greater Financial Inclusion
Millions of unbanked Indonesians are going to enjoy easier access to the savings, loan and insurance services on the back of the government's renewed political will to tackle financial exclusion, an executive at Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's seeks to grant access to financial services to 75 percent of Indonesian adults by 2019, up from 36 percent in 2014.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Microfinance for Water and Sanitation: Opportunities and Challenges for MFIs
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) presents an opportunity for MFIs to meaningfully impact their customers’ lives and aid in their struggle against poverty. However, a variety of issues play a role in determining the suitability of a WASH finance product. To help MFIs navigate through these, MicroSave and Water.Org have developed a series of toolkits.
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- Health Care
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Your Guide To Impact Investing
For more than four years, I’ve been covering impact investing as a regular Forbes contributor and have written hundreds of pieces about the space. Here’s the thing: most impact investments are only open to wealthy people. This is a guide to impact investing for everyone else, the 98 percent of the population who don’t meet the criteria for investing with the wealthy.
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- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Survey: Lack of Financial Literacy Costs Americans over $9,700 across their Lifetimes
The National Financial Educators Council recently released results of a survey about financial knowledge conducted with 3,006 people in six age categories across the US. People were asked, "Across your entire lifetime, about how much money do you think you have lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?"
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India: IFC to provide up to $20m debt to RGVN Microfinance
IFC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group, will provide up to $20 million to RGVN (North East) Microfinance Ltd in the form of a senior debt investment, according to an IFC disclosure.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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