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Rwanda’s Push for Financial Inclusion: The government has set a target of 90 percent financial inclusion by 2020
Six years ago, the 2008 FinScope survey found that just 21 percent of Rwandan adults were participating in the formal financial sector. Largely in response to these figures, the government launched bold initiatives focused on financial inclusion. Now, according to World Bank researcher Douglas Randall, signs of progress are everywhere.
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Leapfrog invests $29 million in IFMR Capital Finance
US-based Leapfrog Investment has bought a minority stake in financial services provider IFMR Capital Finance for $29 million (Rs 174 crore). IFMR helps microfinance firms, small businesses, affordable housing companies and commercial vehicle financiers raise money on the debt markets.
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Weekly Roundup – 3/29/14: Blurred Lines in Banking – the changing definition of “bank” at the BoP
The Internet has reshaped banking in the U.S., where half of the population hasn’t entered a bank branch in the past month. This evolution has been even more dramatic at the BoP, where mobile and branchless banking services are making brick-and-mortar banks increasingly obsolete. We take a look at these changes in this week’s Roundup.
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Grameen Foundation announces funding boost for microfinance activities in Latin America
US charitable foundation Grameen Foundation has announced new $500,000 match funding backing to aid its Last Mile Initiative, that’s helping lift communities from rural poverty, including farmers in Colombia and Guatemala...
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- Agriculture
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Global MFI Investors Shift Focus from Asia to Africa
With the MFIs realigning their fund allocations, South Asia, the traditional microfinance hub, is facing challenge from Africa for the first time
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- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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- microfinance
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The Right Way to Talk About Money: Ignacio Mas discusses the impact words can have on financial behaviors at the BoP
Words can have a major impact on the way people think and feel about their money, says Ignacio Mas. In this Q&A with Mercy Corps’ Kyla Yeoman, he discusses how financial service providers should take customers’ psychological needs into account when designing products - and how the words used to describe these products can affect the way they’re used.
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Annapurna Microfinance raises $5M in Series B funding
Odisha-based Annapurna Microfinance Pvt Ltd (AMPL) has raised Rs 30 crore (around $5 million) in a Series B round of funding led by Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), with participation from the existing investor Incofin Investment Management's Rural Impulse Fund II.
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- Impact Assessment
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Central Bank of Nigeria gives room for microfinance bank mergers and acquisitions
There is an expectation of stronger microfinance banks (MFBs) in the country if the micro institutions that could not meet with their recapitalisation requirements, successfully engage and conclude with mergers and acquisition as they are directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
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