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INTERVIEW: Muhammad Yunus discusses the Indian microfinance industry
The Nobel laureate and founder of microfinance pioneer Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank says MFIs in India could be greedy and tapping the capital market or raising loans from private equity funds is a bad idea.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Asia Steps Up Efforts to Reach the ‘Unbanked’
Across Asia, governments are experimenting with novel ways to widen access to financial services, from using mobile technology for transfers to allowing retail stores to take deposits in remote areas.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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The Mysterious Disappearance of Poverty
How do you help the poor? It is a very old question. The Roman emperor Nero found the answer in the advice of Stoic philosophers like Seneca, and built an awe-inspiring palace covered in gold leaf. This would fill the lower classes with gratitude for being blessed with such a glorious leader. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Roman senate ended Nero’s reign by ordering him to commit suicide four years later.
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- Uncategorized
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Financial Inclusion in Focus in India, but Bank Loans to Micro Sector Fall 5.5%
State-run banks may have created a record with opening of Jan Dhan accounts, but when it comes to lending to the poor, they are actually faltering. Bank loans to the micro sector, the target group of the government's financial inclusion drive and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), have fallen 5.5% over the last 14 months, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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State-Owned Bank Negara Indonesia Prepares to Launch Branchless Banking Program
State-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is preparing to expand its electronic money (e-money) service to increase low-cost funds as well as to offer wider banking access.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Launches Digitization Scheme for Women Self-Help Groups
With an objective to promote financial inclusion, Nabard today started a pilot project for complete digitisation of women self help groups (SHGs) to improve the quality of interface between members and banks for efficient and hassle free delivery of banking services.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Next Phase of Jan Dhan Yojana to Mobilize Financial Savings
The finance ministry on Wednesday said the next phase of the government's ambitious financial inclusion scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), will be focused on mobilisation of financial savings to reverse the decline in the savings rate.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Press Release: IFC Study Shows How Tanzania Became Mobile Financial Services Pioneer
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today published a study documenting the establishment of interoperability in the mobile financial services market in Tanzania, an arrangement that increases access to mobile financial services and advances financial inclusion.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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