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As wild weather hits crops, Ethiopian women turn to savings
Increasingly erratic rain and recurring dry spells have slashed harvests and killed livestock in swathes of Ethiopia, raising fears of increased food insecurity.
Women often bear the brunt of such climate pressures, experts say, particularly as they usually have less power over their lives and are chiefly responsible for feeding their families.- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Asian Development Bank Bolsters Microfinance Program with $100 Million in Additional Financing
“Giving small businesses and entrepreneurs access to finance is one proven tool to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty,” said Sabine Spohn, Senior Investment Specialist in ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Live from European Microfinance Week: Watch Recordings of Friday’s Two Plenary Sessions
NextBillion is covering European Microfinance Week as a media partner, and we're planning to live-stream two plenary sessions on Friday, Dec. 1, via Facebook Live. You can watch the broadcasts on our Facebook Page at 9:00 - 10:30 AM Luxembourg Time/3:00 - 4:30 AM EST, and at 3:30-4:30 PM Luxembourg Time/9:30-10:30 AM EST.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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The company that turned African telcos into insurance brokers
In the early 2000s, UK-born Richard Leftley spent two weeks doing voluntary work in Kitwe, northern Zambia. During his stay, he met a woman who described her life as “a game of snakes and ladders” – no matter how hard she worked to get herself out of poverty, she kept finding herself right back where she started every time life rolled the dice against her.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Indonesia: IFC proposes to provide up to $50m debt to microfinance institution MBK
The funding is expected to support the growth of the company’s microfinance portfolio, mainly targeting underserved rural women borrowers
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- microfinance
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Camilla Nestor Named CEO of Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)
MIX provides data and analysis on financial service providers, funders and other organizations involved in serving the financial needs of low-income clients through avenues including the MIX Market website, which offers financial and social performance data on approximately 2,000 organizations.
- Categories
- Finance
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Something Doesn’t Add Up: Improving Basic Math Skills Among Microentrepreneurs in Rural India
Running any business requires a basic knowledge of arithmetic. Entrepreneurs need to calculate change due on a sale, profits and loss, commissions on product sales, and interest rates on loans. If they can't, their business will likely struggle. As part of a study to identify whether basic math skills contribute to entrepreneurial success in rural India, Madura Microfinance assessed the numerical capabilities of microentrepreneurs. The results were surprising – and somewhat alarming.
- Categories
- Education
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Centrum Capital to acquire FirstRand Bank’s microfinance business in India
As part of starting up, Centrum Capital has executed a definitive agreement to acquire the Indian microfinance business of South Africa-based FirstRand Bank, which currently has around 70,000 customers in the Maharashtra region and employs over 300 people. This is the second lending business the firm has recently entered, following its entry into affordable housing finance at the end of last year.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending, microfinance
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