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Entrepreneurs Are the Current and Future Solution for Sustainable Global Economic Development
When drawing up plans to help stimulate the economic development of new and emerging economies, the United Nations previously looked to multinational operations that could open new plants and offices in specific countries. However, with the ongoing changes in the business environment, the realization is that these large corporations are no longer the source for job creation and have recently been focused on lean operations and downsizing staff.
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Weekly Roundup 9-19-15: Impact investing gets bizarro, poverty surveys get reflective, Gates gets quizzed
We highlight a unique anti-poverty tool geared toward heads of low-income households rather than policy-makers, discuss a truly bizarre new entrant into the "impact investing" scene, and take a quiz with Bill Gates in this Roundup.
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Viewpoint: Why We Still Need Microfinance
Earlier this summer I wrote a response to the constant attacks from microfinance haters that are trending this year. It was a nice surprise to see that a piece referencing Taylor Swift could be taken seriously!
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More Rwandans Go Digital As Rate of Poverty Drops
The number of Rwandans owning a mobile phone has increased from 6.2 per cent of the country's total population in 2000 to 63.6 per cent in 2014 as poverty dropped to 39 per cent, the fourth Integrated Household Living Survey, launched yesterday in Kigali, says.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Risks of Government-Led Financial Inclusion: Why agent networks in India need to move beyond government mandates
Over the years, the government of India has facilitated financial access by promoting account opening through various programs. And, at first glance, some of the numbers associated with the government's inclusion mandates look good. But a more detailed look reveals a bleak picture that includes high agent attrition and low account activity rates.
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- Impact Assessment
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NexThought Monday – Does Anti-Poverty Work Actually … Work?: Three questions every ‘pro-poor’ group needs to ask themselves
How can we fully distinguish pro-poor programs from those that are not? Leading thinkers of the “social performance” movement in microfinance (seeking social as well as financial return on investment) have hit upon a truth that applies to all anti-poverty work: Truly pro-poor programs provide the right answer to each of three straightforward questions.
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Rising Star or Red Flag?: South Africa’s financial inclusion growth raises questions for the entire industry
South Africa placed second in a recent Brookings Institute study comparing financial inclusion in 21 developing countries – surpassed only by Kenya. But though this has led to celebration in some quarters, there’s a troubling aspect to these findings. Illana Melzer argues that the risks of burgeoning financial access and usage are too significant for beneficiaries, development organizations and donors to ignore.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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Viewpoint: Costly Cash
Suppose there were a way of getting money to some of the world’s poorest people precisely when they need it. Suppose, too, that the flow hardly ever diminished, even during a global financial crisis. Finally, suppose the cash could not be creamed off by corrupt local officials. Surely every right-minded government in the world would want to encourage this and make it as cheap and easy as possible?
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