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Mastercard Report: Pay-on-Demand Will Drive Financial Inclusion in Africa
The Pay-on-Demand solution model will continue to drive digital and financial inclusion across African countries, according to a recent research report released by MasterCard.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Sizing the ‘Grey Economy’: Using Geospatial Data to Uncover the True Extent of the MSME Sector in Emerging Markets
The micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector is a major employer in many emerging economies – but exactly how big? And how many jobs is it producing? According to Obert Maposa at FinMark Trust, those are hard questions to answer – but advancements in technology and geospatial data modeling are improving our understanding of the sector. He explores how FinMark Trust has leveraged these tools in Malawi, and why the model holds promise for other countries.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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How E-commerce Platforms Are Facilitating Small Business Owners for Selling Online in India
E-commerce players are expanding beyond metropolitan cities to bring innovative sellers’ products on their platforms.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Asian Development Bank Approves $25M Loan to Support Women-Led SMEs
Access to finance is very limited in Pakistan, with only 21.3% of adults and only 7% of women over the age of 15 having bank accounts in fiscal year 2017, according to available data.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- financial inclusion, microfinance, MSMEs, SME finance, SMEs, Women
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‘Financial Innovation’ is no Frankenstein: How Impact Investors and Inclusive Finance Innovators Are Redefining the Term
For many, the words "financial innovation" spark memories of the banking malfeasance that led to the 2008 financial crisis. But as Paul Hailey at responsAbility Investments sees it, financial innovation has come a long way since then. He argues that innovative new investment products don't have to be "a monster lurching towards the village," and explores how they can enable both financial inclusion and investor returns.
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MSMEs Are the Backbone of Developing Economies: New Research Shows How Digital Platforms Can Boost Their Impact
To keep pace with the growing youth population, 600 million new jobs must be created globally over the next 15 years. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will be key to that effort, say Alina Kaiser at Caribou Digital and Annabel Schiff at the Mastercard Foundation’s FiDA Partnership. They explore how digital platforms can boost MSMEs in emerging markets, based on learnings from 27 micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Kenyan Consortium Launches Mobile Banking App
CBK Governor Dr. Patrick Njoroge said, "Until now, lending to MSMEs has been constrained by the lack of reliable information to assess their creditworthiness. The innovation in this product is the use of all data on customers' transactions to fill this gap. In that sense it is revolutionary."
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Reforming Microfinance to Alleviate Poverty, Foster National Development
About 90 per cent of Nigeria’s businesses are considered microenterprises. Despite this huge number, easy access to funds has remained a challenge for most Small and Medium Enterprises, in spite of several government funding initiatives.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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