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Y Combinator Nonprofit Zidisha Changes Microfinance Equation
The nonprofit says it has figured out a way of getting a 90% repayment rate on business loans to the types of people no financial institution would trust–young people in poor African countries without as much as a permanent address.
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- Uncategorized
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor asks bankers to be innovative on home loans
Reserve Bank Deputy Governor R Gandhi today asked lenders to be more financially innovative in designing home loan products and suggested creation of a periodic deposit-linked facility.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Achieving ‘Resilience’: Financial services beyond the scramble to survive
Since the Microcredit Summit Campaign began in 1997, the world of financial services for the poor has shifted from microcredit to microfinance—a broader range of formal and informal products and services. Resilience: The State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2014 reflects these changes with an interesting discussion of innovations that go beyond credit.
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- Education
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Chocolate at Risk?: Why sustainable finance is crucial to ensuring a steady cocoa supply for the world’s chocolate industry
Smallholder cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire produce 40 percent of the world cocoa supply. Yet the vast majority still live in poverty due to declining productivity, and in the absence of long-term financing opportunities, many have been changing to other crops. Rainforest Alliance’s Helen Roy describes how socially-minded investors are mobilizing capital to help these farmers revive their land.
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- Agriculture, Environment
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Seven Strategies to Attract 40+ Million New Customers: How U.S. banks can serve immigrants today and tomorrow
The surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S. border has put the immigration debate back in the headlines. But CFSI’s Thea Garon argues that the more important issue is whether the millions of immigrants who already live in the U.S. have what they need to succeed. She lays out new research from CFSI on how financial service providers can serve immigrants - both now and if comprehensive immigration reform is passed.
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- Investing
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How Abandoned Houses Are Creating a Golden Opportunity: An Interview With Antonio Díaz, Founder and CEO of Provive
Mexico experienced its own housing boom and bust. More than 7 million homes were constructed in the last decade, thanks in large part to government incentives. But the building wave left more than 600,000 abandoned homes, hot spots for drug abuse and vagrancy. Provive, a social impact enterprise that both renovates houses and revitalizes entire communities, is improving property values with an eye toward profit.
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- Uncategorized
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- interviews, lending
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Weekly Roundup – 7/19/14: Can’t we all just get along?
In a week marked by conflict and tragedy on the global stage, the financial world experienced its share of both. And though this was balanced with a fair amount of good news, even the positive developments sparked discord. We explore these issues in this weekly roundup.
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- Uncategorized
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What the IMF Mandate Means for the Poor: The organization says it’s focused on narrowing the income gap – but will this affect policy?
The International Monetary Fund is known for its multi-billion dollar bailouts of struggling countries, but the organization now says narrowing the income gap between the very poor and the very rich is a key tenet of its mission. How income inequality fits into aid packages is yet to be seen, says Isaac Otto, but it is beginning to enter into the equation.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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