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Cost vs. Tech: Will innovation make it affordable to transact with the BoP?
NextBillion Financial Innovation’s introductory series features the views of top innovators and leaders on what’s driving financial innovation, where momentum is heading, and what obstacles remain. Today, Anurag Agrawal, CEO of Intellecap lays out the core isssues involved in bringing low-cost financial products to customers at the base of the pyramid.
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New blow for microlenders in South Africa
GRAMEEN bank founder Muhammad Yunus, widely considered the father of modern microcredit, issued a stern warning on Friday about how microlending could become “abusive” and be misused by lenders.
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Financial inclusion: India too may learn from US weather insurance firm ClimateCorp’s model
ClimateCorp is actually a very interesting company which straddles an intersection between technology and retail financial services in an innovative way. Moreover, its approach holds an important lesson for us in India. ClimateCorp is a provider of weather insurance. However, it does so in a retail, online, productised and data-driven way.
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- Agriculture
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Practical Insight: Studies support mobile money decision making
Contextual, demand-side research can make all the difference when mobile money providers make decisions about what products and services to offer and how to attract and keep customers. In many developing countries, however, such research is often in short supply. Recent studies conducted by InterMedia shed light on the mobile money markets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, providing insight that is not always intuitive.
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- Education
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A Financial Inclusion Revolution?: How last mile delivery and payment systems innovations could help transform India’s economy
India has been fertile ground for many emerging market innovations, in sectors ranging from health care to sustainable energy. Now the country is on the cusp of a financial inclusion revolution shaped by payment system innovations and doorstep delivery models. If it succeeds, it may provide a model of how innovation and forward-thinking public policy can help transform BoP economies.
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India’s Banks not Inclusive Enough
Are commercial banking (as it is currently practiced in India) and attainment of financial inclusion mutually exclusive?
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- Region
- South Asia
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The Next Great Innovation in Finance: Lee Babcock of ACDI/VOCA on the disruptive potential of mobile money
As part of NextBillion Financial Innovation’s launch, we invited a number of leaders to contribute their views on where innovation is heading, and what obstacles remain. Today Lee Babcock, Managing Director of Mobile Strategy at ACDI/VOCA, describes how different stakeholders can help mobile money become the next innovation to transform finance at the BoP.
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Poor are more trustworthy and bankable, says India’s Finance Minister
Seeking to promote financial inclusion, India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram today called upon banks to focus on poor customers who are more trustworthy and "bankable" as compared to large borrowers.
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