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Does Greater Inclusion Lead to Financial Health? New Research Raises Pointed Questions for the Industry
Does financial inclusion really lead to financial health? The industry has largely been operating under the assumption that the answer is "yes" - but a new Gallup survey of more than 15,000 people in 10 very different countries reveals a more complex picture. Sonja Kelly and Evelyn Stark explore the results of this "unprecedented look at personal finance and how people perceive their situation," in a discussion that raises vital questions about the future direction of financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Finance
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JP Morgan, Gates, Dell give $9.5 million for India’s Financial Inclusion Lab
American philanthropic investors are now coming in to further push India’s digitisation drive and financial inclusion.
- Region
- South Asia
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Using Findex Wisely: Understanding the Strengths and Weaknesses of the World’s Biggest Financial Inclusion Dataset
The Global Findex report is an essential piece of data for the financial inclusion sector, but its insights should nevertheless be treated with caution, says Daniel Rozas. Exploring some inexplicable findings in the recent Findex 2017 release, he breaks down the limits of survey-based data, and explains how Findex can be used in combination with other forms of data to get a more accurate picture of financial inclusion progress.
- Categories
- Finance
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Internalizing Innovation: It’s About Creating a Culture, Not a Product
Innovation holds the key to expanding financial health for low- and moderate-income households—but how can organizations foster a culture of innovation, rather than treating it as a one-off event or a process fix? MetLife Foundation and UNCDF are launching two new innovation hubs in China and Malaysia that aim to promote this cultural shift. Krishna Thacker and Jaspreet Singh discuss the program's unique approach.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship, Finance
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Better Data for Better Products: New Online Resource Aims to Close the $200 Billion Smallholder Finance Gap
The US $200 billion gap in farmer finance is a tremendous opportunity – but it's one that financial service providers are missing, due to the lack of transparent and reliable data. That's why One Acre Fund and MIX, with support from the Mastercard Foundation's RAF Learning Lab, launched the Smallholder Finance Product Explorer. A May 8 webinar will show industry actors how to use some of these new online tools to reach the 450 million smallholders in need of financing.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
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Supporting the ‘Safe Journey’: How Mobile Tech is Making Migration More Secure and Less Costly
In Nepal’s rural areas, foreign employment in wealthy economies like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea can be a huge economic opportunity. But migrants to these countries are often exploited by employment brokers and others, who take advantage of the complexity of the migration process to charge high fees for job placements or loans. Benjamin Lokshin at the Asia Foundation discusses the foundation's innovative 'Shuvayatra' platform, which leverages mobile tools to help bridge the gaps between migrants and providers of important services.
- Categories
- Finance
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Is Universal Financial Access Still Possible?
The most recent Global Findex survey shows 515 million adults have opened bank accounts since 2014. While that's good progress, Daniel Monehin, who heads Financial Inclusion for Mastercard, points out that owning an account is just the first step towards financial inclusion - the real value comes with being able to use it in a safe and convenient way. That's why universal financial access must go hand-in-hand with efforts to drive usage, writes Monehin, who urges the sector to focus on people, products and partnerships.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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A Test Case for Digital Leap-Frogging: What the Financial Inclusion Community Can Learn from Vietnam
With its rapid economic expansion, large unbanked population, high mobile penetration and progressive regulations, Vietnam has the potential to leap-frog over brick-and-mortar banking and arrive directly at the forefront of digital finance. Krishna Thacker of MetLife Foundation in Asia profiles an emerging innovator in the country's mobile payments space, and explores lessons learned in driving the uptake of digital financial services.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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