-
Cambodia’s Lenders Suspend Loan Principle, Interest Collection Amid Pandemic
Two associations representing Cambodia’s microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks issued a joint statement Wednesday agreeing to grant borrowers a reprieve from repayment of loans and interest amid the country’s latest and deadliest outbreak of the coronavirus.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
-
Press Release: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Grants a $3 Million Euros Loan to Pahal in Favour of Financial Inclusion in India
The microfinance sector has become a key instrument to fight financial exclusion in the country by providing financial and non-financial services to people excluded from the banking system.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
‘The First Wealth is Health’: Exploring the European Microfinance Award 2021’s Focus on Inclusive Finance and Health Care
For the global poor, health is often the dividing line between the path to prosperity or a slide into destitution. Daniel Rozas and Sam Mendelson of e-MFP explain how precarious incomes and the absence of high-quality universal health care can push low-income households into a deeper cycle of poverty. As a response to the issue, the European Microfinance Award is seeking to highlight initiatives that facilitate access to quality and affordable health care with this year's €100,000 award, which focuses on the topic of "Inclusive Finance and Health Care."
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
-
Svasti Microfinance Raises $4.2 Million
Svasti Microfinance Private Limited (Svasti), an RBI Licensed MFI, has raised a total of INR 310 million from its existing investors Adar Poonawalla, Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Rajiv Dadlani Group.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
-
Achieving an Equitable COVID-19 Recovery Through Safe Housing: Why it’s Time for Financial Institutions to Step Up
Over 1.5 billion people around the world live in crowded housing with limited sanitary amenities — and during COVID-19, these households are at a particularly high risk of contracting or spreading the virus. Patrick McAllister explains how private-sector financial institutions can play a critical role in achieving equitable social and economic COVID-19 recovery by supporting home-related financing for low-income essential workers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
-
Better Loans for Better Homes: A New Assessment Tool Helps Microfinance Institutions Increase Their Housing Impact
Most housing in developing countries is self-built and incremental, and these homeowners frequently turn to microfinance institutions (MFIs) to finance it. But according to Naeem Razwani and Jitendra Balanirom of Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter and Olivia Nielsen of Miyamoto International, this type of construction process can lead to severe quality and structural issues – while also increasing the lending risk for MFIs. They discuss how a new assessment tool can help these lenders understand and optimize the impact of their home loans to better meet the needs of this market.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
-
Cambodia Microfinance Association Members Have Restructured $1.4 Billion in Loans During the Pandemic
Financial institutions that are members of the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) restructured some $1.397 billion in loans for 289,422 borrowers as of February 28 since the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) on March 27 issued a circular on loan restructuring during Covid-19, according to CMA.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
An Ironic Impact of COVID-19: Will the Pandemic Put Digital Health (Finally) on the Path to Reducing Health Inequalities at Scale in Emerging Markets?
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a digital health revolution, and Michal Matul and Niti Pall at AXA Emerging Customers say these shifts could help close the healthcare access gap in emerging markets. Based on AXA's work bundling digital health services into its inclusive insurance products across nine countries, they share key lessons on how telemedicine can sustain this momentum and become a viable option for eliminating health inequalities over the long term.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Technology
The Best of NextBillion in Your Inbox Each Week!
Subscribe to NB Notes for news, jobs & on-the-ground insights from the world of emerging markets business.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.