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Airbnb is Just the Beginning: The Sharing Economy Comes to Emerging Markets
The "sharing economy" is a buzzworthy new industry with platform provider revenues of $18.6 billion – a number that’s predicted to double by 2022 – and a user base that's expected to increase to 86.5 million by 2021. But what is its potential impact on emerging markets? NextBillion spoke with Airbnb's Shawn Sullivan and sharing economy expert April Rinne about how the nascent industry could impact low-income communities – including through an intriguing variation on Airbnb's home-sharing model.
- Categories
- Technology
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Microenterprise graduation leads to higher consumption, asset ownership
“Helping the ultra-poor escape extreme poverty is a global priority, but policymakers are faced with competing ideas about the best way to accomplish this,” said Village Enterprise’s CEO Dianne Calvi.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Finance Responds to Climate Change: How ‘Recovery Lending’ Can Help Victims of Weather-Related Disasters
Natural disasters leave U.S. communities reeling – but those impacted generally have an insurance safety net. When climate-related catastrophes strike poorer populations, it is almost impossible to recover fully. In fact, every year natural disasters force 26 million people further into poverty. Stewart McCulloch of VisionFund International details a novel disaster insurance program that leverages big data climate models to support nearly 700,000 families with "recovery lending."
- Categories
- Environment, Impact Assessment
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Why Impact Investing is the Next Big Move for Grameen America
David Gough of Grameen America says philanthropy will always be at the heart of the organization's funding, but the nonprofit saw impact investing as an untapped opportunity to fight gender inequity. In celebrating its 10-year anniversary of supporting female entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in the U.S., the group established its first Social Business Fund. The impact investing vehicle is allowing Grameen America supporters to directly invest in the success of more than 100,000 entrepreneurs and receive a financial return in exchange, writes Gough.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Wall St. Journal Financial Inclusion Challenge Seeks Innovative Enterprises – Application Deadline Feb. 23
Financial instability plagues millions of Americans. Many cannot pay their monthly bills and have no retirement savings or no idea how to manage what they do have. The Wall Street Journal has launched a Financial Inclusion Challenge aimed at both nonprofits and for-profit organizations who have socially impactful solutions to the problems of low- and moderate-income people in the U.S. The deadline for entry is Feb. 23.
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Prince Charles launches education impact bond for India
Britain's Prince Charles has launched a new 10-million-dollar Development Impact Bond (DIB) to help improve education for over 200,000 children in India.
The DIB, the largest bond of its type in South Asia, is the latest fundraising initiative by the British Asian Trust (BAT), set up by the royal 10 years ago to fight poverty in South Asia.- Categories
- Education
- Region
- South Asia
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What’s Ailing Sri Lanka’s Microfinance Industry – And Could Fintech Provide a Solution?
In Sri Lanka, microfinance interest rates can be as high as 72 percent – outpacing even loan sharks, whose rates average around 40 percent. This often traps clients in severe debt and perpetuates cycles of poverty – while MFIs themselves often enjoy high profits, low expenses and lack of competitive pressure. Suthaharan Perampalam and Mithula Guganeshan of Sparkwinn explore the potential of fintech (and better regulations) in changing this dynamic.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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Harnessing the Potential of Digital Finance for Women
Sixty-two percent of the world’s adult population now has access to a bank account. But in spite of this progress, gender gaps in digital and overall financial inclusion are increasing, and there's a growing awareness that access alone doesn't equal empowerment. Madji Sock and Katrina Kwan of Dalberg Advisors discuss strategies to close this growing gap and ensure that women are not left behind by the digital revolution in financial services.
- Categories
- Finance
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