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Kenya’s merchants are warming up to a payment system born in a Seattle basement
Naming your company “money” takes some gall, but for the founders of Kopo Kopo, the gambit looks like it might pay off.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Goat Or An ATM?
Financial inclusion efforts in India have achieved much but remain hobbled by the lack of an effective impact assessment framework.
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The Magic of Mobile Money: Looking back on the days when I used to sellotape coins on order slips
Mobile access innovator Nigel Waller looks back on the progress that’s been made in bringing mobile financial products to the BoP - and considers the overwhelming need for financial services that’s driving this progress.
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Leveraging Financial Inclusion to Promote Economic Development in Egypt
Egyptian policymakers are facing a significant challenge: how to address acute economic challenges while managing ongoing political and social transitions.
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Faith and Finance: The director of an Islamic microfinance institution discusses the challenges of mixing business and religion
In Kyrgyzstan, over 85 percent of citizens are followers of Islam, and many seek to run Halal businesses. So offering Shari’a compliant financial services just makes sense. But Kompanion Invest, the country’s only Islamic microfinance institution, is facing challenges as it tries to achieve full Shari’a compliance. The company’s director discusses those challenges, and the broader Islamic microfinance sector, in this frank Q&A.
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Should non-bank financial institutions be a part of the financial inclusion agenda?
Deposit-taking non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), such as microfinance institutions (MFIs), financial cooperatives and postal banks, together serve approximately 596 million people in the global south. These institutions have many of the characteristics which research shows are key drivers for expanding access and reducing poverty.
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The Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance: From Harvard Business School and Accion
The six-day Harvard Business School–Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance offers leaders from around the world an exceptional opportunity to connect with peers while engaging with some of the HBS faculty’s foremost thinkers in business strategy and management.
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How Small Savings Can Replace Small Borrowing: A well-designed savings product can help low-income consumers avoid costly short-term credit
Everyone is taught that it’s good to save money for a rainy day. Yet low-income people often struggle to save, leading them to turn to more expensive options like high-interest payday loans. But recent research from Doorways to Dreams shows that a well-designed savings product can dramatically help these consumers reduce their reliance on costly short-term credit.
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