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Boycott Myanmar: An Open Letter to the Microfinance Community
In response to global events, microfinance has quickly ramped up its focus on refugees. But when those refugees are the Rohingya – the Muslim minority being expelled from Myanmar (and the world’s latest victims of genocide) – this new focus raises some difficult questions, says Daniel Rozas. Why isn’t anyone in the sector talking about the unspeakable atrocities being conducted and condoned in one of the fastest-growing microfinance markets in the world? “There is no way around it: When we work in Myanmar, we are complicit in ethnic cleansing,” Rozas says, in a bold call for a country-wide boycott.
- Categories
- Finance
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Fintech MyBucks Brings Banking to African Refugee Camp
At a refugee camp in Malawi in southeast Africa, a fintech and its bank subsidiary are helping to turn a seemingly hopeless situation into the beginnings of a prosperous community.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Cash is replacing other forms of aid, even in conflict zones
Giving cash to poor people is not a new idea. The UN sends money direct to bank accounts it sets up for Syrian refugees in Jordan; many countries use cash transfers as part of their social safety nets. What is new is donors’ willingness to give out cash in war zones.
- Categories
- Finance
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81 Designs: A social enterprise that marries art with women’s empowerment
The brand oversees a group of refugee women as they recreate the works of leading Middle Eastern artists in the traditional “tatreez” style of cross-stitching.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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How one engineer made it his business to help refugees become entrepreneurs
Usman Iftikhar turned his struggle to land a full-time engineering job into a startup accelerator that helps refugees and migrants realise their entrepreneurial ambitions – and received a Royal seal of approval for his efforts.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Financial inclusion makes big inroads into Myanmar
Myanmar has seen a significant increase in the numbers of adults with access to at least one formal financial services product, according to research presented on June 19 as part of the nationwide Making Access Possible (MAP) financial inclusion study.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Blockchain international aid player Aid:Tech raises €1m
Dublin-based start-up Aid:Tech revolutionises how governments, enterprises and NGOs deliver aid to refugee camps.
- Categories
- Technology
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A Recipe for Understanding: How Food Entrepreneurship and Gastrodiplomacy are Bringing Syrian Refugees and Turks Closer
Nearly 6 million people have fled Syria's brutal civil war, with many settling in nearby Turkey. These refugees, as well as millions of other migrants around the world, often open restaurants and other eateries, drawing upon their cultural heritage to earn a living. The Livelihood Innovations through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) project was created to help these business owners – some 240 entrepreneurs will receive business support services offered at two food incubators.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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