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Funding a Sector in Transition: Recent RCTs could reshape donors’ approach to microcredit
After a group of six studies published in January found that its benefits are modest at best, microcredit is stuck at a crossroads, says Matt Mossman. But as debate continues amongst practitioners about how to react to the new data, the findings could spark changes in the funding landscape for the sector.
- Categories
- Education
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Kenya’s Mobile Finance Revolution Takes the Next Steps: Two new developments go far beyond mobile money
Kenya’s mobile finance market is evolving, and for the country’s leading financial services players, that evolution has been a profitable one. But beyond M-PESA’s remarkable payments revolution and the continued growth of M-Shwari’s mobile banking services, there are two other important developments in the Kenyan market. MicroSave founder Graham Wright discusses their impact.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Vodafone’s M-Pesa Mobile Money Service Goes Live in Albania
Vodafone Albania officially launched the M-Pesa mobile payment service during a press conference held in the capital Tirana. Vodafone Albania is the second Vodafone operator in Europe to offer the service, following Vodafone Romania in April 2014.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Viewpoint: Contributory Social Security Schemes Launched Last Week in India Could Be Game Changers
The prime minister launched three welfare-enhancing pension and insurance schemes on May 9. In a country where less than 10 per cent of the population has insurance cover and almost nobody in the unorganised sector has a pension plan, these three schemes are expected to play a significant role in providing social security for the poor.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Financial Inclusion in Africa: “Things Are Further Behind Than People Think”
Plenty of progress has been made on increasing the size of Africa’s banked population. The trouble is, from the amount of noise that is made about the topic, you would be forgiven for thinking we had fixed the problem when we really haven’t.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: India’s Financial Inclusion Schemes Are Fine, but Why Is the Government Not Addressing Banks’ Quality, Cost Concerns?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team at the NDA government deserve their due share of credit for initiating efforts to bring a large segment of India’s population to insurance, pension cover at cheaper cost, even as the Congress is crying foul of repacking old UPA ideas.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Relief Through Finance: How microfinance builds resilience to disasters and crises
After a natural disaster or other crisis, like Nepal’s recent earthquake, the relief and aid community inevitably plays a major role. But according to Sam Mendelson, there is also a vital role for microfinance, which can help restore livelihoods and provide resilience to vulnerable populations thanks to existing relationships with clients that foreign NGOs lack.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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In Africa, Mobile Money Is on the Move
Moving money across African borders with the click of a cellphone button just keeps getting easier. The mobile money revolution – essentially the use of cellphones to access financial services – is already transforming the face of financial inclusion on the continent.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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