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Microfinance Looks Toward the Future – But Will Fintech Revive the Controversies of Its Past?
James Militzer's wrap-up of European Microfinance Week says microfinance has lurched from development sector darling to punching bag over the years, but in the midst of this turmoil – and in reaction to it – practitioners at industry events have been diligently reimagining their sector. That take earned Militzer a spot in our Most Influential contest. You can participate by casting a vote ... but you've only got one more day.
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Opportunity International and MyBucks: A Dangerous Partnership Decision?
Long-time microfinance watchdog Chuck Waterfield expresses serious concerns about the ramifications of Opportunity International's sale of six microfinance banks to the fintech company MyBucks – both for the clients of those banks as well as for the broader microfinance industry. This post, which originally appeared on June 21, was the most popular post on NB that month, and is part of our Most Influential Post of 2016 contest.
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The Surprising Reason Why Savings Boosts Income: New Research Reveals an Unexpected Benefit of Financial Inclusion
Make it easier to save, and people will save more. This seems straightforward and holds true for customers in rich and poor countries alike. Make it easier to save, and people will save more and earn more. This sounds a little less intuitive, especially if you posit that this increase in income will happen almost immediately. Yet this is exactly what researchers have found - and the reason why is surprising.
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Is Maharashtra the Next Andhra Pradesh for the Microfinance Industry?
Microfinance companies in Maharashtra are seeing early signs of trouble, reminiscent of a crisis that gripped the sector in 2010 when repayments came to a virtual standstill in Andhra Pradesh revealing poor lending practices by the industry.
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- South Asia
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Why Microfinance Should Embrace – Not Resist – A New Brand
We've launched our Most Influential Post of 2016 contest, and every day through Jan. 2 we'll publish another monthly winner included in the competition. This article, the most-viewed post on NextBillion for February, discusses the profound rebranding of microcredit over the past 25 years. There's also a list of the other best-read posts in 2016 and an opportunity to vote for your favorite.
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It’s Time Research Caught Up with Microfinance Realities
As part of our Most Influential Post of 2016 contest, we are re-publishing the most popular articles from each month over the past year. This article by Kathleen Odell, an associate professor of economics and acting associate dean at Dominican University’s Brennan School of Business, was the most-viewed post on NextBillion for January 2016. There's also a list of the other best-read posts in 2016 and an opportunity to vote for your favorite.
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- microfinance, research
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NextBillion’s Most Influential Post of the Year Contest 2016
All our posts discuss important topics. Some, however, are so well-written and well-read that they change and even lead that discussion. Those are the ones that are included in our fifth annual Most Influential Post of the Year Contest. Please read or re-read the posts and then vote for your favorite(s). You may vote up to a dozen times. Voting ends Jan. 2, and we'll name the winner on Jan. 4.
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- Agriculture, Health Care, Investing
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Microfinance breakthrough: Dean Yang uses fingerprints to boost microlending in Malawi
Eight years ago, development economist Dean Yang spent a week in Malawi visiting microfinance institutions, the banks and credit unions that provide financial services to some of the world's most vulnerable citizens.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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