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‘Financial Inclusion for Sustainable Development’: European Microfinance Week Nov. 18th – 20th
European Microfinance Week is a major annual event featuring high level, in-depth discussions by all sectors of the European microfinance community. The conference, which will take place Nov. 18th – 20th in Luxembourg, will welcome over 400 top professionals in the industry, from several dozen countries. NextBillion will be a media partner at the event, providing live tweeting, blog coverage and interviews with key participants.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment, Technology
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The Risks of Government-Led Financial Inclusion: Why agent networks in India need to move beyond government mandates
Over the years, the government of India has facilitated financial access by promoting account opening through various programs. And, at first glance, some of the numbers associated with the government's inclusion mandates look good. But a more detailed look reveals a bleak picture that includes high agent attrition and low account activity rates.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Rising Star or Red Flag?: South Africa’s financial inclusion growth raises questions for the entire industry
South Africa placed second in a recent Brookings Institute study comparing financial inclusion in 21 developing countries – surpassed only by Kenya. But though this has led to celebration in some quarters, there’s a troubling aspect to these findings. Illana Melzer argues that the risks of burgeoning financial access and usage are too significant for beneficiaries, development organizations and donors to ignore.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
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A New Wave of Capacity Building: Enabling private investment in the university education of students in developing countries
Human capital is a nation’s most critical capacity, yet many students in developing countries can't afford a higher education. And neither scholarships and financial aid nor bank loans are sufficient to meet the level of need. Brighter Investment enables private investors to fund the university education of students in the developing world, in exchange for a fixed percentage of their future income - its co-founder discusses their unique model.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship in Latin America: An interview with Agora Partnerships’ CEO Ben Powell
As Ben Powell, its founder and CEO puts it, Agora Partnerships "accelerates entrepreneurs that are solving social and environmental problems in Latin America." Powell describes the process – including some surprising challenges most entrepreneurs face – and discusses emerging trends in social business and investing in this video interview.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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NexThought Monday – How We Can Improve Ultra-Poor ‘Graduation’: The next generation of innovations required to end the most extreme poverty
There is no great innovation without skepticism, much less in the tireless crusade against global poverty. So it's no surprise that as the ultra-poor ‘graduation’ approach pioneered by BRAC has gained ground as a viable path out of extreme poverty, questions have emerged about its effectiveness and possible next steps.
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- Impact Assessment
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Three Pillars for Measuring Impact in Inclusive Financial Services: Apis Partners and Accion Frontier Investments Group publish a framework for impact investors
In seeking to ensure a social as well as financial return on their investments in inclusive financial services, Apis Partners and Accion Frontier Investments Group created a framework to capture these services' unique aspects of impact. This gave rise to three core categories which they believe any fund manager investing in inclusive financial services can use to measure impact.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Needed: A ‘Facebook’ for Impact Investing: Why the Sector Needs to Embrace Failure – And Also Produce Some Inspiring Successes
Impact investing has had some notable success stories, but no true breakout companies that – like Facebook – can inspire public attention and draw more entrepreneurs and investors to the sector. That's a problem, says Vox Capital director Daniel Izzo – as is the fear of failure, both financial and social, among investors. He discusses these challenges, and some possible solutions, in this video Q&A.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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