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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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- Uncategorized
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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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A New Wave of Capacity Building: Enabling private investment in the university education of students in developing countries
Human capital is a nation’s most critical capacity, yet many students in developing countries can't afford a higher education. And neither scholarships and financial aid nor bank loans are sufficient to meet the level of need. Brighter Investment enables private investors to fund the university education of students in the developing world, in exchange for a fixed percentage of their future income - its co-founder discusses their unique model.
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- Education, Impact Assessment
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VIEWPOINT: Humanitarian Cash Transfers: Six Things We Know and One (Big) Thing We Don’t
The Center for Global Development has been working with the Overseas Development Institute to look into humanitarian cash transfers, and will launch its report on September 14.
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- Education
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Serving the 57 Percent: That’s the percentage of American adults who are struggling financially – CFSI research illuminates their needs
At first, the headline number may seem hard to believe: 57 percent of American adults are struggling financially. But that's what the Center for Financial Services Innovation found in its recent Consumer Financial Health Study. We spoke with Aliza Gutman, the CFSI director who has led the study, about the challenges facing this group - and the opportunities in serving them.
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- Education
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OPINION: Microfinance has a part to play in fighting terrorism
"I absolutely believe that business, done in a responsible way, is a credible alternative to delivering up your kids to being radicalized," says FINCA president Rupert Scofield.
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- Uncategorized
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Weekly Roundup – 8/28/15: Will microfinance take on the ‘randomistas’?
Our finance editor discusses an online dispute between two global development heavyweights, which highlighted the growing tension between the microfinance sector and the poverty researchers who have increasingly called its impact into question. And our health care editor weighed in on another bout: The e-cigarette vs. traditional tobacco cancer stick industry in the developing world.
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- Health Care
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