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NexThought Monday: Women Entrepreneurs to the Rescue
Ebola was always an emergency within an emergency, says Faruque Ahmed, executive director of BRAC International. Now, with the immediate threat of the disease gone, West Africans have the much-needed space to shift their energies back to tackling the even greater scourge of rural poverty and powerlessness.
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- Agriculture, Health Care
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Can Mexico be the hub for fintech in Latin America?
Mexico is in a nascent stage but there’s a wealth of burgeoning innovation centres and resources like incubators and accelerators for startups to use.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
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Obama Administration Targets ‘Unbanked’ Households in New Initiative
The Obama administration launched a new initiative this week to boost banking access for millions of Americans who don’t currently have checking or savings accounts.
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- Uncategorized
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Building an Inclusive Financial System, One City at a Time – an Interview with Citi’s Bob Annibale
I recently had a chance to speak with Bob Annibale, global director of Citi Community Development. Annibale’s work for Citi touches on everything from microfinancing to neighborhood revitalization. We discussed partnering with mayors, helping the unbanked, immigrant integration and more.
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- Uncategorized
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Two Keys to Advancing Global Financial Inclusion
JP Morgan recently joined with the Gates Foundation, Bankable Frontier Associates, Accion International, Omidyar Network and others to create the Catalyst Fund. Catalyst will provide funding and mentorship to financial inclusion-focused social entrepreneurs in emerging markets that offer breakthrough technology innovations to promote financial health globally. Janis Bowdler discusses the new fund, and two key approaches to bringing financial services to the world's poorest.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Kopo Kopo Changes Focus From Payments to Micro-Lending, Announces New CEO
After raising $2.10 million in equity financing, Kenyan payments platform Kopo Kopo is pivoting its business away from the Lipa Na M-Pesa service it offers in partnership with Safaricom to focus on micro-loans to businesses. To this effect, the company has appointed a new CEO to direct the company’s growth and shift in focus.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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ANALYSIS: Bitcoin vs. M-Pesa: Digital payments innovators battle in Kenya
On 14 December, a high court in Kenya will come to a preliminary decision in a battle between Bitcoin remittance and payments company BitPesa, which is suing Safaricom, the telecom company which operates M-Pesa. Also suing is Lipisha, the payment company that gateways BitPesa and M-Pesa. There's plenty of irony to go round here. Bitcoin and M-Pesa should not be pitted against one another - both are elements of a payments revolution that is happening right now and which will be remembered as one of the great technology success stories of the 21st century.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Microfinance in a Dangerous World
Held in the aftermath of the brutal Paris terrorist attacks, last week's European Microfinance Week conference had a special resonance. But the event also provided a hopeful response to recent grim headlines: it brought a strong focus to the ways the microfinance industry and broader financial inclusion movement can lessen the tensions that drive global conflicts – and how they can help communities recover when natural or man-made disasters strike.
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- Uncategorized
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