-
Scaling Access to Finance: Two Recent Studies Explore the Supply and Demand Sides of Funding ‘Missing Middle’ Enterprises in Emerging Markets
Over $5 trillion: That’s the estimated size of the financing gap for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries – a shortfall that's particularly problematic for the much-discussed “missing middle.” Since these businesses form the backbone of local economic growth and job creation in many communities, we need to better understand the challenges they face, says Karina Avakyan at Triple Jump. She explores two recent publications that address both sides of SMEs’ financing equation.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Press release: Microfinance is Instrumental in Alleviating Financial Hardship in the United States – Early Results of an MDRC Study of Grameen America
The first-of-its-kind random assignment study examined 1,492 women (in 300 loan groups) who applied in groups of five to the Grameen America microlending program in Union City, New Jersey. Applicant groups were assigned at random into two groups: those eligible to receive Grameen America loans (the program group) and those not eligible (the control group). The outcomes of the two groups were compared over time.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North America
-
European Microfinance Award 2019 Focuses on How Financial Inclusion Sector can Strengthen Resilience to Climate Change
The European Microfinance Award 2019 seeks to highlight organisations active in the financial inclusion sector that provide financial and non-financial products and services aimed at strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities to the effects of Climate Change.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Press release: VisionFund International’s Women’s Empowerment Fund Commits 2019 Funding to Armenia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Vietnam
Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, VisionFund International (VisionFund), the microfinance arm of children’s charity World Vision, has pledged over $1.2 million in funding to support over 32,000 women in 2019 in Armenia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Vietnam from its Women’s Empowerment Fund, a fund established to empower women’s ability to improve their livelihoods and benefit their children.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Finance
-
Report: Over 80 percent of social investments in Myanmar are in microfinance
Among the goals of the forum is for AVPN to influence investors’ portfolios more deeply in order to help them increase the impact of their work. During the forum, AVPN also released its Social Investment Landscape in Myanmar Report.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
India’s microfinance industry posts 43% growth in Q3
The total number of microfinance accounts witnessed an annual growth of 24.3 per cent.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
-
Study: How microfinance may lead to indebtedness
The authors found that more than 56% of the households in rural areas and 35% in urban areas were over-indebted, on the basis of a survey of 280 rural and urban households from microfinance markets across 10 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Kerala and West Bengal in 2015-2016.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
Mobile lenders drive microfinance entities to early grave
Loan officers with high targets aggressively signed up poor women in slums and rural villages for loans they did not know how they would repay.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- microfinance
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.