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College Credit: How U.S. university students are helping the underbanked build credit in their campus communities
In the U.S., good credit is a basic requirement for entrepreneurs and average consumers alike, and a lack of good credit is a major problem – especially for those with lower incomes. But while service providers are often reluctant to lend to the underbanked, college students across the country are filling the gap with campus microfinance institutions.
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- Uncategorized
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Home Financiers Strike Deal for Bottom of the Pyramid in Kenya
“Over the years, the country has accumulated a housing deficit of over three million, which has led to demand for housing exceeding supply and proliferation of slums. Now we are telling people to stop renting houses and move to their own homes.”
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Insuring Impact: A Q&A with the co-founder of HUGInsure, the world’s first social impact insurance
Few new products or concepts can be described as "the first of their kind." But Dalberg and Hollard Insurance recently launched what they believe to be the world’s first social impact insurance entity, HUGinsure. It applies rating methodologies and risk management principles to social impact funding, helping facilitate loans to projects that impact the poor.
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- Impact Assessment
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Banking on Impact: Building the business case for social and environmental due diligence in lending
Conducting social and environmental due diligence can be a challenge, but Root Capital has found that its financial costs are surprisingly low, and its financial benefits surprisingly large. It has published scorecards and methodology that other financial institutions can use to partially avoid the fixed costs of developing their own due diligence tools.
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- Agriculture, Environment, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- impact investing, lending
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Tiny Loans Are Big Business Once Again in India
Lending to India’s poor is a good business once again.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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From Corner Store to Microfinance
With a master's degree in social work and a Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy, Antoinette Temporiti spent 30 years counseling individuals and families. She specialized in working with young adult victims of sexual abuse and loved her career. But a trip to Africa in 2004, when she was 54 years old, set her on a new path.
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- Uncategorized
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What prompts banks to cut home loan rates in India?
Top three home loan institutions- HDFC, SBI, ICICI Bank - have reduced home loan rates by 15-25 basis points last week to catch borrowers in a fiercely competitive market. Their offerings are only for new loans though.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending
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Small loans a big help for typhoon survivors in the Philippines
The typhoon affected more than 13 million people, including 5 million children, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Even before the storm, nearly 44% of Filipinos lived on less than $2 day and there are now fewer resources than ever to help those in need.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
