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It Pays to Use Prepaid Cards to Deliver Services to MFI Clients: Study
There is good scope for the use of prepaid cards for delivery of value-added financial services to the clients of micro-finance institutions (MFIs), says a new study.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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IFC, The MasterCard Foundation, and FINCA Support Expansion of Financial Inclusion in Democratic Republic of Congo
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, together with The MasterCard Foundation, on January 17 announced a cooperation agreement valued at $1 million with microfinance institution FINCA in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the agreement, FINCA will expand access to credit and digital financial services for low-income people and small-scale entrepreneurs.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Is Microcredit a Vaccine or an Antibiotic?
In his third post in a series, Timothy Ogden asks if microcredit is a vaccine or an antibiotic. In other words, does it work best when delivered at the right dose and at the right moment, or when it's made available to an entire population? Thinking through that frame, he believes, can help social investors clarify their theory of change and guide what areas of microcredit innovation to invest in.
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- Uncategorized
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GetBucks Goes for the Bucks in Botswana
The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) has approved the Programme Memorandum for the Note and it is anticipated that the Note will be listed on the BSE on Monday, 30 January 2017. Proceeds from the first tranche of the Note of up to BWP 200 million will be used by the Issuer to reduce the cost of funding.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Fintech or Die: Five Ways Microfinance Can (and Must) Respond to the Digital Age
MicroSave founder Graham Wright hasn't been shy in criticizing the ways lenders are currently leveraging fintech to serve low-income clients. But his views on its potential in microfinance are far more bullish than this criticism might suggest. "Very soon, if MFIs don't develop a strategy and implement fintech behind that strategy, I think they will simply become irrelevant and slowly but surely shrink and die," he said in this frank video Q&A.
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- Technology
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Announcing NextBillion’s 2017 Editorial Calendar and Our First Monthly Theme: Microfinance
It's a new year, and NextBillion is announcing a new approach to showcase our diverse array of content: Each month, along with our regular coverage of the broader social business world, we’ll dedicate special coverage to a specific sector. We're launching the concept this month, with a special focus on microfinance. You can view our full 2017 editorial calendar here.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- microfinance
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The Hidden Impact of Microcredit: Three Under-recognized Ways the Industry Can Help Emerging Markets
Microcredit has historically been evaluated – and often found lacking – on the terms that the industry was built on: raising the income, investment and consumption of clients. But, according to Timothy Ogden, there are other ways that microfinance may have had an impact, including helping to build institutions, training people in the technology of management, and strengthening civil society.
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- Uncategorized
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Bangladesh government plans to strengthen Grameen Bank
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the government plans to strengthen Grameen Bank further so that the Nobel Prize winning microcredit lender becomes more relevant in changing times.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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