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Who Is the ‘User’ In ‘User-Centred Design’?: When it comes to financial products, don’t discount the role of intermediaries
The obvious “users” of financial products are the end customers of the financial institution or mobile network operator. But as Graham Wright of Microsave notes, there is another very important “user” - the organization that will ultimately deliver the product.
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- Education
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A Visionary Approach to Financial Inclusion: Nachiket Mor discusses his groundbreaking plan for universal financial access in India – Part 1
The Nachiket Mor committee report has garnered global headlines by setting a lofty goal - bank accounts for all Indian adults by 2016 – and laying out an innovative, detailed vision of how to reach it. Mor discusses the much-debated report in part 1 of this Q&A.
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- Uncategorized
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What Was 2014’s Most Influential Post?: You tell us – VOTE
In 2014, we published more than 570 blog posts. Now it’s your turn. We need your vote for NextBillion’s annual Most Influential Post contest. Last year’s contest attracted more than 16,000 ballots. That was huge – we’d be thrilled to do even better this year if we can. So please vote early and vote often. You can vote once a day, and for multiple posts if you choose. Please share this link or the contest link itself with your friends, family and colleagues.
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- Agriculture
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Myanmar anticipating a leap-frog in development through financial inclusion
An overview of the Financial Access Landscape and the usage of financial services by consumers in Myanmar.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Can Innovation Help the Poor Escape from Payday Lenders? Ford Thinks So
The Ford Foundation has been working to close the racial wealth gap for over two decades, a gap much in the news these days, and one part of that effort has been to help "unbanked" low-income people escape from the shady world of payday lending and worse, and access the financial services that middle-class people take for granted. To that end, Ford recently gave $1 million dollars to the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) to continue its work on building financial tools for the underserved.
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- Uncategorized
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Three Key Steps for Boosting Mobile Money in Nigeria: Grameen Foundation explores ways the struggling sector could reach its potential
As the largest of Africa’s fast-growing economies, Nigeria is a promising market for mobile finance. Yet though almost 57 percent of Nigerian adults have no access to formal financial services, only 0.1 percent actively use mobile money. Grameen Foundation explores the reasons for the stunted growth of mobile services, and outlines some key steps that could increase their adoption and continued use.
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- Uncategorized
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State Bank of India to Provide Mobile Financial Services to Underserved
Amdocs, a provider of customer experience products, today announced the selection of its mobile financial services product in association with Triotech's product, which will enable State Bank of India to offer mobile financial services to India's unbanked and underbanked population, using the mobile network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. The solution will be delivered under a five-year services contract, according to a press release.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Financial Education in the Digital Age: It’s affordable, it’s scalable – but does it work?
Financial education is a key strategy for achieving full financial inclusion. But in-person group training by a human trainer have failed to consistently improve beneficiaries’ knowledge and behavior, and they are often too costly to scale. Nowadays, however, individualized financial education can reach millions at a low cost via digital platforms. IPA is examining the impact and potential of these programs.
- Categories
- Education