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What’s Holding Agricultural Finance Back?: The MIX describes what’s needed to help this crucial sector grow
One of the most effective ways to reduce poverty is to increase agricultural productivity. But for many farmers, access to yield-increasing technologies and inputs requires access to financial products specially tailored to their needs, which are scarce in rural areas. Xavier Martin Palomas of the MIX discusses this challenge and how financial service providers and policymakers can address it.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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PRESS RELEASE: Accion Acquires 10 Percent Stake in Peruvian Microfinance Institution Credinka
Boston, MA and Lima, Peru, September 24, 2014 – Accion, a leader in microfinance, today announced its purchase of a 10 percent stake in Peruvian microfinance institution Credinka from majority stake holder Diviso Grupo Financiero.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- microfinance
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Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority plans cap on microcredit interest rates, banks on alert
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority plans to set a cap on microcredit rates this year, a move that would put domestic lenders on alert as micro-lending has been seen as the most profitable credit segment.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- microfinance
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Weekly Roundup – 9/20/14: An awkward moment, new momentum and a brewing battle highlight recent developments in finance
Muhammad Yunus has issued some pointed criticisms of microfinance’s turn toward profit. But is the sector he pioneered listening to him - and are his ideals even realistic in the first place? We discuss these questions - along with signs of momentum in impact investing and new developments in a Kenyan mobile money battle - in this Roundup.
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- Uncategorized
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An Interview With Muhammad Yunus: The Godfather of Microcredit Shares His Views – And Concerns – About the Sector
Though he’s a tireless promoter of microcredit’s potential to help the poor, Muhammad Yunus hasn’t been shy in voicing his criticisms of its embrace of commercialism. In a video Q&A with NextBillion Financial Innovation – the first in a series of conversations with microfinance thought leaders – Yunus discusses his concerns about the industry’s direction, and points to ways it could improve.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Foreign investors chasing bigger gains by investing in Indian microfinance institutions
Instead of raising their holdings in companies such as HDFC Bank and IDFC, the infrastructure lender which is turning into a bank, investors are chasing India's profitable microfinance institutions.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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Vittana to “cease to exist as a standalone organization”: The education-focused P2P microlender will wind down in its current form, its CEO says
“One of our founding beliefs was that once we reached scale, we could do our work sustainably, without shifting costs and risk onto the students,” wrote CEO Robin Wolander in announcing Vittana’s wind-down. “But after five years ... we haven’t found a robust business model to wean ourselves off that support.”
- Categories
- Education
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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The Eternal Struggle of Microfinance: The Microcredit Summit raised questions about the sector’s future – but does anyone have an answer?
As last week’s Microcredit Summit wrapped up in Mexico, the topics of over-indebtedness and high interest rates reared their ugly heads. The final day served up a riveting debate that pitted a representative of a Mexican microfinance network against one of the sector’s most vocal critics. The questions raised were crucial to the future of microfinance - but the answers remain elusive.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment