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UPDATED Weekly Roundup: Haiti’s Peanut Pushback, Moms Vs. Markets and Should Google’s Payday Ban Apply to Microfinance?
This week in the roundup we consider the pushback of Haitian farmers and NGOs against the U.S. government's mass peanut donation, how marketers might be undermining mothers who breastfeed, and whether Google's ban on ads from payday lenders could justifiably be applied to microfinance.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
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Google to Ban Payday Loan Advertisements
Google announced Wednesday that it will ban all payday loan ads from its site, bowing to concerns by advocates who say the lending practice exploits the poor and vulnerable by offering them immediate cash that must be paid back under sky-high interest rates.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- lending
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Online Lenders Already in Turmoil Facing U.S. Call for Rules
Marketplace lenders need to be more transparent about their business practices and some should be subject to additional oversight from U.S. regulators, according to a Treasury Department study released as the industry grapples with market turmoil and a scandal involving one of its leading firms.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- lending, regulations
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NexThought Monday: Our inaugural podcast – a conversation with the MasterCard Foundation’s Ann Miles
In April, the MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity awarded over $10 million to five innovative companies working to increase financial access in rural Africa. In NextBillion's inaugural podcast, we spoke to Ann Miles, Director of Financial Inclusion & Youth Livelihoods at the MasterCard Foundation, about the competition's winners and the broader digital financial inclusion space in Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Mobile Wallets in India to Start Offering Small Amounts on Short-Term Credit
Your mobile wallet, which has been serving your need for instant cash in an electronic form for sundry transactions, will also empower you further with companies in the business planning to add an instant loan facility to their offerings.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Guadalajara Startup Kueski Scores Largest Fintech Investment in Mexico History With $35 Million
Guadalajara microloan startup Kueski announced a massive funding series over the weekend, bringing in $35 million with the potential to increase that to $100 million. The Series A round was led by Richmond Global Ventures, Rise Capital, the CrunchFund and Variv Capital. It also included Victory Park Capital, Angel Ventures Mexico, Core Ventures Group and Auria Capital.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- fintech, lending, microfinance
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India’s Microfinance Industry Puts Crisis Behind It, Thanks to Regulations, Diligent Borrowers
The aroma of flaming gingelly oil wafted through the air as 16 women employees of Thrissurbased Global Chips & Foods braced themselves for another long day at work. A black wooden board, hung on a recently white-washed wall, listed out their day's chores: 20 kilograms of tapioca chips and 20 kgs potato chips.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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WeChat Proprietor Tencent Seeks $2 Billion Loan for FinTech Expansion
The Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, most famous for its WeChat messaging app, is reported to be soliciting a loan that could run as high as two billion dollars in order to deepen its interests in the FinTech sector.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia