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More College = Less Poverty: The Impact of Peer-to-Peer Lending
More than 57 million students globally are qualified but have not enrolled in higher education, mostly because they lack the money. Yet banks often don't want to lend to them, due to their lack of collateral, uncertain earning potential and long repayment periods. That’s why Ryker Labbee and Kirk Acevedo launched peer-to-peer student lender Zomia, targeting nearly 1 million potential college students in Myanmar and Cambodia. They explore how the model could scale into other markets and reduce poverty.
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Indonesia’s Fintech Lending Boom Exploits Shortfall in Bank Loans
The emergence of these peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms has so far been welcomed by Indonesia's financial regulators which see them as offering a much needed service to cash-strapped businesses and consumers at a time when Southeast Asia's biggest economy has been hobbled by sluggish bank lending.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- banking, fintech, lending, peer lending, SMEs
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Indonesia comes out with regulations for P2P lending platforms
Following the release of e-commerce roadmap in November, Indonesia ended 2016 by coming out with a new set of rules for the fintech sector, specifically regulating peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. The policies had long been anticipated by players, who had been working closely with the Indonesian financial services authority (OJK) to come up with rules governing lenders and borrowers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Malaysia’s EthisKapital Claims “World’s First” Licensed Islamic P2P/Crowdfunding Platform
The Securities Commission Malaysia awarded six peer to peer licenses, one of which is the world’s first license for Shari’ah-compliant P2P finance. EthisKapital will be focused on funding small businesses and real estate development projects. The team is spearheaded by UmarMunshi, who is also the Chairman of the newly-formed Islamic Fintech Alliance, and supported by former senior World Bank and Barclays Bank executives.
- Categories
- Technology
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Beyond the Lending Club Scandal – Why Marketplace Lending is Still Needed in Emerging Markets
Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of industry pioneer Lending Club, resigned in May amidst rumours of fraud and malpractice. Since then, critics have been trying to write off marketplace lending as a flawed business model. But it's too early to discount the value of the entire industry – especially as it emerges in markets like India and China to address the critical needs of SMEs.
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- Uncategorized
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MasterCard Drives New P2P Solution in Bangladesh
In a quartet joining forces to bring mobile cross-border payments to 22 million Bangladeshis, MasterCard is linking up with Western Union, bKash and BRAC bank.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Viewpoint: Regulators Should Leave China’s P2P Sector Alone
I got into a shouting match with my 83-year-old father-in-law the other day in Shanghai. He had invested 300,000 yuan ($45,940) in Zhongda, an obscure peer-to-peer lending company based in Zhejiang Province. So far he has not suffered a loss from his adventure but he has refused to pull his money out despite my insistence that he do so.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- investment, lending, peer lending
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Overcoming Assumptions and Prejudices to Forge a Network of Self Reliance: Why Zidisha targets young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs with loans
The nonprofit Zidisha built a different kind of micro-lending platform: One that is peer-to-peer, transparent and caters to entrepreneurs who came of age during the Internet era. In part two of our interview with CEO Julia Kurnia we discuss how Zidisha maintains its borrower-friendly focus, differentiates itself from other lending networks, and holds steadfast to the idea that loans are better than cash transfers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized