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Indonesia Turns to Technology to Build its Banking Sector
Indonesia is hoping to get more of its 250 million citizens using formal financial services, and it’s looking to some of the creative tech startups that are already one step ahead for some assistance.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Kenya’s Jamii Bora Bank sheds microfinance tag
Jamii Bora Bank has announced that it is now targeting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), in a major change of strategy that has seen it shed the microfinance tag.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- microfinance
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How Do You Know You’re Really Reaching the Poor?: Tips for microfinance providers considering digital services
Though many microfinance institutions operate in impoverished areas, they often have little or no objective poverty data on the clients they’ve reached. Pride Microfinance wanted to avoid this problem when it rolled out its digital financial services programs this year, so it worked with Grameen Foundation to measure its social impact. The lessons it learned can be valuable to other MFIs considering going digital.
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- Uncategorized
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Bitcoin Microfinance Can ‘Reach Anyone with a Cell Phone Who Wants a Friggin’ Loan’
How bitcoin — or other cryptocurrencies — along with microfinance and mobile technology could form a new platform that would make it easier to dole out loans and charity.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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PRESS RELEASE: Lafarge launches ‘Housing Microfinance Academy’ in India
Lafarge, a leader in building materials, launched the Indian chapter of 'Housing Microfinance Academy' in Mumbai earlier this week.
- Categories
- Finance, Uncategorized
- Tags
- housing, microfinance
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A Revolution in the Making: CGAP’s Greg Chen discusses how smartphones could transform financial inclusion and microfinance
Smartphone sales are exploding in emerging economies, with Latin America and the Middle East/Africa recording growth rates of 59 percent and 83 percent, respectively, last year. CGAP’s Greg Chen discusses how this new access could transform low-income people’s interactions with their financial services providers in this video Q&A, the latest in our series on the Future of Microfinance.
- Categories
- Technology
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The Human Touch Behind Digital Success: Microfinance institutions that go mobile need to support the people behind the technology
Technology is the enabler of digital services, but people are still the backbone. This is important for microfinance institutions to remember, since transitioning to mobile services requires considerable changes from staff. In the latest post in their series on how MFIs can go digital, Grameen Foundation explores best practices for making this transition.
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- Uncategorized
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Buddhist Monk in Thailand Relies on Karma for Lending Success
Buddhist monks aren’t really known for dipping into the material world of finance. Phra Subin Paneeto, though, says he felt he didn’t have much choice when he saw his neighbors near Thailand’s border with Cambodia were struggling to make ends meet.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance