-
Microfinance Strikes Deep Roots in West Bengal
The Indian microfinance sector has found a new Andhra Pradesh in West Bengal. The sector, which has not been able to see any business in the state of Telangana and AP, has seen brisk business in this eastern state, piping other southern states as well.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
-
Africa Tech Trends: The Age of Start-Up Accelerators
Start-up accelerators are common in Europe and the United States, where the likes of Y Combinator and Startupbootcamp have emerged as leaders in the model and have offered hundreds of start-ups both equity funding and mentorship to assist them in scaling. But in Africa the concept is still very young, having only really arrived in 2012.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Kenya’s Mobile Money Use Swells to a Record $50,000 per Minute, $26.1 Billion Annually in 2014
Kenya's 2014 mobile money use surged to a record 26.1 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of about 4 billion dollars from previous year.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Mexican Banks Using Mobile Payments Technology to Enable Digital Transactions at Mom-and-Pop Stores
In a bid to increase card payments and financial inclusion, Mexican banks are collaborating with mobile payments technology vendors to deploy mPOS solutions at mom-and-pop stores. The Mexican government encourages these initiatives, as around 70 percent of all purchases in Mexico are made with cash and the informal economy represents 30 percent of GDP.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
-
Twitter Top Ten – 2/15/15
We’ve got plenty of tweets in this "Valentine’s Day Weekend" edition of our Twitter Top Ten. And we’ve even thrown in a holiday-themed tweet just for the occasion - a great example of behavioral science humor (yes, there is such a thing). Beyond that, we’ve got tweets covering everything from the ongoing debate over microcredit to the (hopeful) winding down of an epidemic in this week’s list.
- Categories
- Health Care
-
Investing in Airtime: How an unlikely financial innovation is promoting economic security for girls in South Africa
Only 37 percent of women In the developing world have bank accounts, yet research has shown that poor women are inherent savers. Stellar has created an open source payments platform that’s being used to provide a mobile wallet in South Africa focused on promoting savings among girls. The wallet has a unique feature: along with cash deposits, it lets users deposit mobile airtime, and withdraw it later as cash.
- Categories
- Technology
-
Viewpoint: Smaller Banks Better Suited for India’s Financial Inclusion Drive; Modi Should Have Waited
There are too many takers for licences for small-sized banks. A total of 113 companies knocked the doors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with applications when the deadline expired at the close of business hours on 3 February. The list (see here) includes both the biggies and tiny names.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
-
For MFIs in India, Transition to Small Banks Could Be Arduous
The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to create small finance banks could be a game-changer for microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.