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Shifting from Financial Inclusion to Financial Health: Strategic Focus Areas for Providers and Other Stakeholders
In the past decade, 1.2 billion people around the world have obtained a financial account. But according to Nishant Kumar and Sonal Agrawal at Lakshya, this growing financial inclusion isn't leading to similar gains in financial health – and addressing this challenge will require stakeholders to boost engagement on the demand side rather than just maximizing supply-side efficiency. They propose three key strategic focus areas for improving global financial health, and explore how they differ from the approaches taken to boost financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Finance
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The Pandemic is Not Over for Social Enterprises: Here’s How Impact Investors and Other Funders Can Help Them Survive COVID-19
Social enterprises are developing innovative, sustainable and scalable solutions to the world's deepest economic and social issues, but many of these businesses are at risk of disappearing due to COVID-19. According to Alethia Kang at Acceso and Luke Seidle at Kiva, impact investors and other funders must step up to keep the social enterprise field afloat. They share five steps funders can take to bolster these businesses, and discuss how the partnership between their two organizations illustrates the value of flexible funding support during a crisis.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Asian Development Bank and BlueOrchard Sign a $50 Million Risk-Sharing Agreement to Bolster Microfinance
ADB's flagship fund, BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund, will invest in selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks.
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: The ABC Fund Supports Bolivian Microfinance Institution CIDRE IFD With Multi-Million-Dollar Investment
The Agri-Business Capital Fund (‘ABC Fund’) has announced that it is investing USD 4.7 million in Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Regional (‘CIDRE IFD’), a microfinance institution providing financial support to smallholder farmers in Bolivia.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Investing
- Region
- Latin America
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Analysis: India’s Microfinance Sector Hit As Defaults Surge In Pandemic
Small loan specialists in India that typically cater to people without bank accounts are facing a jump in pandemic-related defaults that could force some of them out of business, industry experts warn.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Health Care
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India’s Microfinance Sector Hit As Defaults Surge In Pandemic
Small loan specialists in India that typically cater to people without bank accounts are facing a jump in pandemic-related defaults that could force some of them out of business, industry experts warn.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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The Resilience of Indian Microfinance: Why the Sector Has Successfully Navigated the COVID-19 Pandemic
When a crisis hits a financial system or economy at large, the microfinance sector is usually among the worst impacted, since it caters to the most economically vulnerable segments of the population. As Sudip Bandyopadhyay at Inditrade explains, that's what happened to Indian microfinance when COVID-19 struck — yet the sector has shown remarkable resilience in weathering the pandemic. He explores some effective measures Indian microfinance institutions and policymakers have taken to address these historic challenges.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Supporting Microfinance During the Pandemic: Lessons From a COVID-19 Response Program
The COVID-19 crisis has had serious impacts on the microfinance industry and the micro and small enterprises it typically serves, leading to a decrease in both the quality and volume of microfinance institution (MFI) portfolios. Mathilde Bauwin of ADA explains how the organization designed and implemented a response program to help its partner MFIs overcome the pandemic's challenges. She shares lessons learned during the process, which could be useful in helping MFIs navigate future crises.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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