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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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Finding Macro Solutions for Microfinance
Small loans to give backcountry villagers a modest start toward entrepreneurship — the bright idea that brought Muhammad Yunus the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, 30 years after he founded Grameen Bank in Bangladesh — is by now a fading ideal.
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MetLife and Sesame Workshop to Provide Financial Knowledge & Resources to Low-Income Families with Young Children
MetLife, Inc. announced today that MetLife Foundation has committed $20 million over the next five years to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, to advance financial capability among low and moderate-income families with young children throughout the world.
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Mobile Money in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The indirect path may be most effective for small business payments
Much of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) economy consists of small businesses, and most of them operate exclusively in cash. With only 4 percent of adults in DRC having a formal bank account, mobile money is key to improving the efficiency and security of small business payments. A recent report by InterMedia and GSMA highlighted opportunities for expanding mobile money use among small business owners.
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A Really Big Tent: Danone trying to maximize its potential through inclusiveness
Confronting the global economic crisis in recent years, Danone came up with an ambitious new business model that includes all the stakeholders in its ecosystem: employees, customers, farmers, suppliers, subcontractors, transporters, distributors, the places where it operates.
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- Agriculture
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