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Financial Inclusion on the Final Frontier: After years of isolation, Myanmar must build inclusive finance from the ground up
After decades of isolation, a new government is helping Myanmar rejoin the rest of the world, drawing a flood of new investment. But with 80 to 90 percent of its population lacking access to formal financial services, this investment could fail to fully impact the country’s poor. Accion CEO Michael Schlein discusses the need for new entrants to approach this market with social values and principles.
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- Uncategorized
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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation pushes microinsurance for disaster mitigation
The 21 member-economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is pushing for microinsurance to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- microfinance
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Blossom Offers Islamic Micro-Financing in Indonesia Using Bitcoin
A startup that recently relocated from San Francisco to Jakarta aims to shake up micro-finance in Indonesia.Blossom‘s concept can be said to be breaking ground: it operates onBitcoin and targets the global Muslim community.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: Nigeria: Microfinance Banks – Helping or Killing SMEs?
To say that the Small, Medium Enterprises is the engine room for economic development is to state the least, especially, in the third world countries, where the degree of unemployment is high and where there are so many qualified applicants chasing few and sometimes not available white collar jobs.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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- microfinance
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Going Digital Sustainably: How microfinance providers can balance business needs, technology constraints and the customer value proposition
A strong digital financial services model can reduce distribution costs and increase revenue for financial institutions that serve the poor. But the transition to digital requires an understanding of the full implications of the new service, and a strategy to encourage customer behaviors that will yield a successful investment. Grameen Foundation offers tips in the latest post in their series on what it takes for MFIs to go digital.
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- Uncategorized
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- microfinance
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Press Release: Accion, FMO and Triodos Investment Management Form Consortium to Strengthen Financial Inclusion in Myanmar
Financial inclusion pioneer Accion, the Dutch development bank FMO, and Triodos Investment Management today announced their plans to invest in and expand Dawn Microfinance, one of the earliest microfinance institutions (MFIs) established in the Republic of Myanmar. The $6.85 million investment is intended to establish the newly incorporated MFI as a premier institution that can serve as a model for the country’s nascent microfinance industry and influence the development of the sector.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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IFC Invests in Cambodia’s PRASAC Microfinance Institution Ltd. to Expand Lending for Micro and Smaller Businesses
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has provided a loan of up to $10 million to PRASAC Microfinance Institution Ltd., Cambodia’s largest organization of its kind, to increase lending to micro, small and medium enterprises in the rural and agricultural sectors.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Indian Microlender Ujjivan Launches Hand-Held Field Tech Devices to Expedite Loan Process
Bangalore-based Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt Ltd, one of the top-tier microfinance institutions in the country, has rolled out hand-held field technology devices as it seeks to take the loan approval process online and expedite disbursals.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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