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Documenting a Historic Year in Emerging Markets Business: Vote for the Top NextBillion Article of 2020
Like many of you, we're not sorry to see the end of 2020. But as we look back on this historic, tragic year, NextBillion would like to take a moment to appreciate the extraordinary work done by enterprises, NGOs, researchers and others in the emerging markets business sector. They have risen to the occasion in ways that can best be described as heroic – while sharing their insights in nearly 100 COVID-19-focused articles on our platform. Several of these pieces are included in our "Most Influential Article of the Year" contest, which launches today. We invite you to read these articles and vote for your favorites – the contest runs from Dec. 21 to Jan. 2.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Energy, Finance, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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Businesses Behaving Badly: The Troubling Parallels Between Microfinance and Facebook
Chuck Waterfield left microfinance five years ago, after working in the sector for three decades. He stopped using Facebook three years ago, after using the platform for about 10 years. As he explains, he left them both for a similar reason: Their business models have grown increasingly problematic over time – and without external intervention, things are likely to get worse.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Liquidity Before Solvency: A Guide for Microfinance Investors in the Time of COVID-19
Among microfinance investors, there's growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic will push providers toward insolvency, with fewer loans and shrinking portfolios leading MFIs to default on their debt. But Daniel Rozas at e-MFP argues that in a crisis, preserving MFIs’ liquidity must take precedence over maintaining their solvency. To that end, he urges investors to commit to a six-month moratorium on debt repayments from MFIs.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Press Release: Grameen America Launches Impact Investing Fund to Support Minority Women Small Business Owners Impacted by the Pandemic
Over the course of the fund's five-year life, $17.5 million will be redeployed in nearly $200 million of cumulative loans to women entrepreneurs.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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In Latin America, Farmers Use Microfinance to Fight Climate Change
Globally, more than 1.5 billion people live or work on small farms, like Gomez's. They often cannot afford the advanced technology that could help them contend with the fallout from climate change.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
- Region
- Latin America
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Data + Digitization: The Key To Helping African Banks and Microfinance Institutions Support Their Customers During COVID-19
Thanks to COVID-19, the IMF projects 2020 to be the worst year for Africa's economic growth since its record-keeping began in 1970. And concerns are also mounting about the likelihood of an increase in non-performing loans, which will impact businesses, industries and individuals across the continent. Cate Rung at Pngme explores how financial technology – including a unified data API platform – can help banks and microfinance institutions weather this crisis, while delivering services that comply with social distancing measures.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Five Ways To Use Media To Challenge Social Norms: Lessons From Kashf Foundation’s Innovative Use of Television for Social Impact
While researching organizations that are making a social impact through narrative storytelling, producer Lara Storm spoke with Roshaneh Zafar, president and founder of Kashf Foundation, a Pakistani microfinance organization that also produces popular television shows focused on challenging harmful social norms. Zafar shares five lessons from Kashf’s success, which provide a useful foundation for other organizations that are exploring social impact through entertainment.
- Categories
- Finance
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Analysis: Revolutionising Nigeria’s Microfinance Landscape Through Insurtech
According to Augusto & Co’s estimates for the 2019 financial year, the insurance industry in Nigeria generated gross premium income (GPI) of N471 billion, approximately 12% higher than the preceding year’s GPI. Compared to other African countries like Kenya and South Africa with 2.9% and 14% respectively, insurance penetration in Nigeria is low.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa