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Impact Investing in Financial Inclusion in Southeast Asia: Four Key Considerations for Investors and Enterprises
Southeast Asian nations are seeing movement toward greater financial inclusion, but this growth, fueled mostly by digital innovations, is not enough to meet customer needs, say Komal Sahu and Danielle Todesco of AVPN. They share four key considerations that investors and enterprises can take into account to promote interoperability, financial literacy and product accessibility while boosting financial access in the region.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Adapting to Survive: New Study Reveals the Importance of Digital Payments to Small and Micro Businesses in Mexico
An estimated 95% of businesses around the world are micro, small and medium enterprises, and they've been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Devin Olmack and Ashley Speyer at 60 Decibels discuss a new study of 750+ small and micro businesses owners in Mexico, which illustrates how digital payments can help these businesses grow and weather unpredictable storms like the pandemic. They share personal stories of small business owners who have benefited from digital payment systems, and detail some remaining obstacles and opportunities for growth.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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COVID-19 Is Showing Small Businesses the Benefits of Digital Financial Services: Here Are Three Ways Providers Can Use Data to Better Serve Them
Digital access to financial services has been growing in recent years, but COVID-19 has made it all the more necessary. BancoSol, a commercial bank serving 1.5 million Bolivian microentrepreneurs, saw its digital transactions rising over the last year and wanted to extend this trend beyond the pandemic — but it wasn't sure how. Kathleen Yaworsky at Accion and Aaron Lewin at Mastercard discuss how their organizations are supporting BancoSol through data-driven insights, and share three steps microfinance institutions can take to better serve the needs of their micro and small business customers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Founders Factory Africa Partners With Small Foundation to Invest In 18 Agritech Startups
Johannesburg-based investment company Founders Factory Africa (FFA) today announced a partnership with Small Foundation that will see it select 18 agritech startups for an acceleration and incubation program.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Amazon Announces $250 Million Venture Fund for Indian Startups
Amazon on Thursday announced a $250 million venture fund to invest in Indian startups and entrepreneurs focusing on digitization of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the key overseas market.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- e-commerce, MSMEs, startups
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Uganda’s Tugende Closes $3.6 Million Series A Extension to Meet the Demand for Its Asset Finance Products
The investment, which, according to the company, was agreed on and structured in 2020, follows the $6.3 million raised in November 2020 and led by Toyota Tsusho investment fund Mobility 54. This brings Tugende’s total Series A financing to $9.9 million.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- MSMEs, transportation
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Indifi Secures $5 Million Debt Funding From IndusInd Bank
Gurugram-based online lending platform Indifi Technologies—enabling credit for small businesses—on Monday announced $5 million debt financing from IndusInd Bank Ltd, with a guaranty from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- impact investing, MSMEs
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Press Release: DFC Promotes Gender Equity in Financing Across India With $50 Million Investment
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) today announced the second disbursement of a $50 million loan to Northern Arc Capital to expand access to loans in several priority sectors across India.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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