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Honest’s $140 Million Boost: Can Indonesia’s Fastest-Growing Credit Card Startup Redefine Consumer Finance?
Backed by global investors and fresh capital, Jakarta-based Honest is betting on speed, digital-first products, and financial inclusion to challenge traditional banks.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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ADB, World Bank Sign $3 Billion Agreement to Boost Lending Capacity in Asia and the Pacific
The agreement is ADB’s first EEA with the World Bank and its sixth EEA with other multilateral development banks (MDBs) since 2020, bringing the cumulative exchanged amount to $9 billion.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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M-KOPA Posts First Ever Profit, Bets on E-Mobility for Next Growth Phase
The Nairobi-based fintech swung to a US$9.2 million profit in 2024 from a US$20.6 million loss the previous year, according to audited results seen by The Kenyan Wall Street.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Swedfund Boosts Financial Access in Southern Africa With $15 Million Loan to Select Africa
The investment aims to enhance access to credit for low-income individuals who are often excluded from traditional banking systems.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: ISF Advisors Launches Global Report on $200 Billion+ Smallholder Finance Gap Amid Rising Climate Pressures
The report warns this gap is set to widen as climate change drives rising adaptation needs while lenders retreat from risk, threatening global food security and rural livelihoods.
- Region
- Global
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SACCOs, Social Collateral and Bitcoin Communities: A Filmmaker Documents New (and Old) Ways to Extend Financial Inclusion Past the Limits of Fintech
Luke Willms worked at an African NGO, where he was tasked with creating short videos to showcase the positive impacts of its microcredit program. But as the video project progressed, his assumptions about the effectiveness of microfinance began to unravel. He would spend the next seven years filming stories from across Africa and other regions, exploring whether microlending still held relevance in a rapidly changing world. The resulting documentary, “Unbankable,” was released last year, with the goal of helping to reframe the global conversation around financial inclusion. He shares key stories from the movie, which show how Africa’s informal, trust-based financial systems offer models of resilience and adaptation that could find new applications in other emerging countries.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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How India’s Non-Bank Financial Companies are Closing the MSME Credit Gap — And What Other Emerging Markets Can Learn from Their Success
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up around 90% of businesses and employ over half of the workforce globally, while generating up to 40% of GDP and creating 70% of formal jobs in emerging markets. Yet according to Sameer Nanda at Ugro Capital Limited, these businesses face an ongoing credit gap that, in India alone, amounts to an estimated ₹80 trillion. He explains how non-bank financial companies are addressing this gap by offering dynamic and flexible lending services designed for MSMEs — and shares useful lessons from their approach that can be applied in other emerging economies with similar credit challenges.
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BII Commits $20 Million to Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach Initiative
The platform aims to expand access to affordable, reliable energy in underserved African markets.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa