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AfDB Approves U.S.$ 15 Million Equity Investment in Shore Capital Fund to Support Inclusive Growth in Africa
With a target capitalization of US$ 150 million, the Fund will provide growth capital and capacity building to inclusive financial institutions such as Small Business Banks (SBBs), microfinance institutions (MFIs), insurance providers, leasing companies, housing finance companies and financial technology providers.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Seeking the Anti-Poverty Holy Grail: Can a ‘Trust Mark’ Boost Microfinance’s Social Impact?
In an effort to find which microfinance practitioners are most successfully alleviating poverty, Truelift – with the help of other microfinance rating agencies and technical experts – designed an assessment tool and beta-tested it on nine institutions around the world. The result, essentially, is a global “trust mark” for anti-poverty action. Organizers are looking for opportunities to use the tool to support assessment of a variety of service providers.
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Making Microcredit Charities Better
While supporting women entrepreneurs is commendable, no data suggest that lending to women—or men, for that matter—is a miracle poverty cure. That’s primarily because lenders commonly charge the poor about 25% for loans. Six randomized studies of microlending programs from 2003 to 2012, published in the American Economic Journal, found no correlation with improved welfare. Although the loans can be helpful in some situations, there’s no evidence of a transformational effect.
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- Uncategorized
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Demonitization May Lead To Equity Erosion For Microfinance Institutions, Says India Ratings
India Ratings had warned about a build up of risks in microfinance even before demonetization was announced in November last year. Since then, the cash shortage brought on by the currency exchange program and increased instances of farm loan waivers, have disrupted the market further.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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- microfinance
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I’m a Victim of DFS: Digitizing My Dollars is Fine, the Problem is Digitizing Me
The whole framework for digital money is inadequate, says Ignacio Mas, because people don't have a proper digital identity. That's partly due to governments and financial institutions having different needs. He recommends dividing identity rules into two: one set that serves financial integrity and law enforcement needs, and another that fulfills the bank's fiduciary duty toward customers.
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- Uncategorized
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Philippines government’s microfinance facility goes nationwide
With sufficient funds to provide to borrowers, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its micro-financing arm Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) will lead the implementation that will assist micro entrepreneurs financially and enable them to grow their businesses.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- governance, microfinance
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New Partnership Aims To Lift Women Microentrepreneurs In Myanmar Out Of Poverty
OPIC and DAWN announced in early May that the former had agreed to provide a $5 million loan to support DAWN’s activities in the country. An outgrowth of Save the Children’s Myanmar operation, DAWN has been operating independently of the NGO for the past two years, with strong support from Accion and other stakeholders. When DAWN launched in 2015, it had 27,000 clients carried over from Save the Children. Two years later, it serves 80,000 women and has its eye on rapid expansion.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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MetLife Foundation Is Proud to Present Its 2016 Annual Report
When MetLife Foundation launched our financial inclusion strategy in 2013, the financial inclusion industry was beginning to show that a well-coordinated global effort could produce impressive results. We saw that more than 2 billion people lacked access to formal financial services. But we also saw how steadily that gap was being closed.
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