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Letter from Mindanao, Part 1: The impact of ASEAN integration on banking in the Philippines
On January 1st, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 10 member countries inaugurated the ASEAN Economic Community, a common market whose goal is to forge a prominent regional bloc and bring economic well-being to its 625 million citizens. How will the integration affect banks in the region? In a recent trip to the Philippines, Bruce MacDonald sought the perspectives of government and central bank officials and private bankers.
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- Uncategorized
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Serve Rural Areas or Lose License, Central Bank of Nepal Governor Tells Microfinance Institutions
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Chiranjibi Nepal has warned that the central bank may scrap the license of microfinance institutions who fail to reach rural areas of the country.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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UPDATED Weekly Roundup: Haiti’s Peanut Pushback, Moms Vs. Markets and Should Google’s Payday Ban Apply to Microfinance?
This week in the roundup we consider the pushback of Haitian farmers and NGOs against the U.S. government's mass peanut donation, how marketers might be undermining mothers who breastfeed, and whether Google's ban on ads from payday lenders could justifiably be applied to microfinance.
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- Agriculture, Health Care
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An Ecosystem Approach for Building Affordable, Climate Resilient Housing
Indonesia has seen some of the worst natural calamities in recent times, and its demand for houses exceeds an estimated 1 million, with a supply between 300,000 - 400,000 annually. This highlights a business opportunity for private firms in the country’s affordable housing sector. As a part of the Rockefeller Foundation Technical Assistance Facility, Intellecap worked with Lafarge in Medan and Aceh, Indonesia to create a climate-resilient housing product model that is sustainable and caters to the urban poor.
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- Environment
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NexThought Monday: Our inaugural podcast – a conversation with the MasterCard Foundation’s Ann Miles
In April, the MasterCard Foundation Fund for Rural Prosperity awarded over $10 million to five innovative companies working to increase financial access in rural Africa. In NextBillion's inaugural podcast, we spoke to Ann Miles, Director of Financial Inclusion & Youth Livelihoods at the MasterCard Foundation, about the competition's winners and the broader digital financial inclusion space in Africa.
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- Agriculture, Technology
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In Response to Fraud, Bank of Ghana Puts Hold on Issuing New Microfinance Licenses
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has put on hold the issuing of new licences to microfinance companies.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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- microfinance
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Microlender Ujjivan Eyes $375M Valuation in IPO
Bengaluru-based microfinance firm Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd is seeking a valuation of as much as Rs 2,500 crore ($375 million) in an initial public offering that opens on April 28.
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- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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- microfinance
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Guadalajara Startup Kueski Scores Largest Fintech Investment in Mexico History With $35 Million
Guadalajara microloan startup Kueski announced a massive funding series over the weekend, bringing in $35 million with the potential to increase that to $100 million. The Series A round was led by Richmond Global Ventures, Rise Capital, the CrunchFund and Variv Capital. It also included Victory Park Capital, Angel Ventures Mexico, Core Ventures Group and Auria Capital.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- fintech, lending, microfinance
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