-
Helios Investment Partners raises US $1 billion African investment fund
Pan-African private investment firm Helios Investment Partners has raised over US$1 billion for a third Africa-focused fund, with the firm claiming the fund is the largest in existence dedicated to African private equity.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Viewpoint: Dirty Money and Development
Dirty money—MNCs’ undeclared profits, the proceeds of corruption, etc.—can play a large role in ending poverty.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
NexThought Monday (2/10/14) – The Kiva Fairytale: It’s a Microlending Superstar – But Who is it Really Serving?
Beloved by the public and celebrated by the likes of Bill Clinton and Oprah, Kiva is perhaps the most famous microlender in the world. It lets users lend small amounts via the Internet to individual low-income entrepreneurs, based on their personal stories and photos. But according to Hugh Sinclair, it’s focused more on making lenders feel good than on actually helping the poor.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
NexThought Monday (1/20/14) – The Tragic Failure of Microcredit: Yunus’ Dream Has Become a Nightmare for the Global Poor
Microcredit was devised as a free market solution that would enable the global poor to escape their own poverty by starting an income-generating activity. But Milford Bateman argues that due to deregulation, commercialization - and fundamental flaws in the model - microcredit has instead undermined developing economies and trapped the poor in a cycle of debt.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
-
More Than Credit: Can microfinance also deliver affordable health care?
Poor people should have greater demand for health coverage than any other market, but the microfinance sector has had difficulty convincing poor people to pay insurance premiums. In response, BRAC launched its own health loan pilot – the “medical treatment loan” – by partnering its microfinance and health programs in Bangladesh.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
-
World Bank commits over $1 billion to Bangladesh
The fund would benefit almost 36 million people by improving the quality of primary education, building coastal communities’ resilience to natural disaster, and increasing the nutrition and cognitive development of children.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
-
Myanmar anticipating a leap-frog in development through financial inclusion
An overview of the Financial Access Landscape and the usage of financial services by consumers in Myanmar.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
-
Cash Versus Cows (Part 2): What’s more scalable – cash transfers or in-kind transfers?
Successfully catapulting ultra-poor households over the extreme poverty line is incredibly hard work, and requires philanthropic capital and grant-based approaches. In this second part of a two-part series, BRAC’s Rod Dubitsky and Sadna Samaranayake pose a seemingly simple question: Is it better to give a cow or cash to seed sustainable livelihoods for the poorest-of-the-poor?
- Categories
- Agriculture
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.