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A Sector in Ruins or ‘Building Back Better’? Findings From e-MFP’s Covid-19 Financial Inclusion Compass
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the global recession it has triggered, the financial inclusion sector is facing perhaps the greatest crisis in its modern history. In response, the European Microfinance Platform repurposed this year's Financial Inclusion Compass survey for this critical moment. Sam Mendelson discusses the results, and what they say about the sector's priorities, challenges and prospects for recovery.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Investing
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Viewpoint: The Great Reset After COVID-19 Must Put People First
Ventilators, masks and other personal protective equipment are urgently needed, but alongside these efforts, deep structural reforms predicated on putting “people and the planet” at centre stage and supported by social movements are the necessary building blocks for transformation.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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Farmers in Zimbabwe Bemoan Mobile Money Ban
Cotton growers have criticised the government for its abrupt ban on bulk mobile money transfers, saying this will derail their operations as payments are now taking longer at a time the rate of inflation is galloping.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India Bans 59 Chinese Apps Including TikTok, Helo, WeChat
The government said the applications are engaged in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”
- Categories
- Technology
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A Digital Lifeline in a Public Health Crisis
To mitigate the profound disruption to life and livelihood caused by efforts to contain the virus, governments must rapidly scale social support to vulnerable households.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- Region
- South Asia
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Cash Transfers in the U.S. are Exploding: Here’s How to Make them Effective, During COVID-19 and Beyond
The U.S., like over 130 countries around the world, has deployed direct cash transfers to mitigate the hardships of COVID-19. But as Sheida Isabel Elmi and Rachel Black at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program point out, many U.S. households were financially insecure even before the pandemic began. They argue that cash transfers should be an ongoing response to these vulnerabilities, and share research on how to leverage these programs for the fullest benefit.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Designing for Women: How COVID-19 Could Allow Government Payment Programs to Boost Women’s Economic Empowerment
Governments around the world are deploying government-to-person programs to address the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. But as Amanda Schwartz at IDEO.org points out, unless these programs are designed around women’s unique needs, they could exacerbate gender inequality and financial exclusion. She explores how a gender inclusive approach could "make the single biggest push for women’s economic empowerment that the world has ever seen."
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Finance
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The UN Says a New Computer Simulation Tool Could Boost Global Development
The United Nations is endorsing a computer simulation tool that it believes will help governments tackle the world’s biggest problems, from gender inequality to climate change.
- Categories
- Technology
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