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Solving the Credit Impasse: How Big Data and AI are Generating Funding Opportunities for Smallholder Farmers in Africa
Smallholder farmers provide over 80% of the food in much of the developing world, making a major contribution to poverty reduction and food security. Yet as Iftin Fatah at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation points out, in Africa, less than 3% of total bank lending goes to the sector – even though it accounts for about 70% of all employment and over 40% of GDP. She explores some innovative, tech-driven solutions to this perennial problem.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Silicon Valley-Backed App Lenders Use Phone Data to Hassle Borrowers
Silicon Valley venture capital is funding a wave of fintech startups in India that use data from borrowers’ cellphones to collect on debts in ways that are illegal in both India and the U.S.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech, lending, regulations
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Press Release: Bamboo Capital Partners Backs Amartha, a P2P Lending Platform for Micro-Entrepreneurs in Indonesia
Founded in 2010 by Indonesian entrepreneur Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, Amartha started as a microfinance institution before pivoting into Fintech P2P lending in 2016. Amartha’s mission is to connect aspiring unbanked micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas experiencing difficulties finding working capital with online lenders interested in making profitable, impactful investments.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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National Bank of Cambodia Slams NGOs’ Lending Report
A report on predatory lending in Cambodia by local human rights NGOs Licadho and Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), was slammed by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) as “flawed”.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press Release: BBVA and Fibra Uno Sign Latin America’s First-Ever Sustainability-Linked Revolving Credit Line
BBVA served as sole sustainable agent in the first syndicated revolving credit facility in Latin America, signed with Fibra Uno, a strategic client for the bank. The transaction is also the first sustainable transaction by a real estate business in the region and the first facility to be arranged in accordance with the ‘Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles’ in Latin America.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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Can sustainable companies get a lower cost of capital?
Green bonds have been making headlines in the sustainable finance world the past few years because of their rapid growth. Emerging this year as a rising star in sustainable finance are green and sustainability loans.
- Categories
- Finance
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The Promise of Psychometric-Based Credit Scoring in Financial Inclusion
Many lenders are using alternative data to improve their credit models and better serve the underbanked. But though this data is usually finance related, non-financial data can also be uniquely useful in reaching new customers, says Innovative Assessments CEO Saul Fine. He explores how psychometric testing can provide insights into the personal character traits that define reliable borrowers, and how this can help lenders maintain good loan performance – while serving customers whose traditional credit histories might otherwise exclude them.
- Categories
- Finance
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A Peter Thiel-Backed Credit Card Company That Caters to People with Little to No Credit Just Raised $30 Million
Peter Thiel has doubled down on his investment in a credit card company geared towards people that might typically be turned down by traditional banks.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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