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No Silver Bullet: While microfinance alone won’t end poverty, it is making an impact – so let’s re-focus it to serve the poor
The debate about microfinance is getting a little tedious, says Freedom from Hunger CEO Steve Hollingworth. Instead of arguing over whether microfinance alone is lifting most clients out of poverty (it’s not), we should be having a transparent discussion of its strengths and limitations.
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- Impact Assessment
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Unbanked consumers bypassing banks, going straight into mobile money, says Citigroup
Just as the mobile phone transformed the communications industry, it seems clear that mobile financial services are poised to transform the financial sector. Speaking on the second day of Mobile World Congress 2014 here in Barcelona, Michael Corbat, chief executive officer of U.S. multinational financial services company Citigroup, made the point that while more than 3 billion people have a mobile phone, only 2 billion people have a bank account.
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Mobile banking spreading to Asia and Latin America
Mobile money services for people without access to the traditional financial system are spreading at an increasing pace beyond Africa, according to a report released yesterday (24 February) at the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.
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MTN and Ecobank offer Ghana subscribers access to cardless ATM services
MTN Ghana has partnered with Ecobank for the extension of cardless services to the bank’s ATMs across Ghana, allowing more than two million mobile money subscribers in the country to withdraw from Ecobank ATMs without using a card.
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Kenya’s Equity Bank Seeks Share of Telco Business
An Equity Bank branch in Dadaab. In a move likely to upset the applecart in the telecom sector, Equity Bank has applied for a license to operate a mobile telephone business.
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- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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State Bank of Pakistan Launches 5-year Strategic Plan for Islamic Banking
This was discussed by Saeed Ahmed Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan on Islamic Finance in his opening remarks at a two day workshop on Islamic Banking and Finance for journalists organized by SBP here on Monday.
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- Region
- South Asia
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Tanzania: Mobile Money Tranfers Gaining Popularity
Financial transactions have always been a challenge for rural, poor people in Tanzania. M-Pesa, an immensely popular system of money transfer via mobile phone, has made life much easier.
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Banks in Zimbabwe face new threat from mobile money
LOCAL banks face a tough hurdle as the emergence of mobile money transfer services (MMTS) appears to pose a serious threat to their survival.
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