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The ‘Start Small, Stay Small’ Dilemma: How Nonprofit/Private Partnerships Can Boost Women-Owned Businesses
Women-owned businesses tend to start small and stay small, in part due to challenges accessing credit. They're also more likely to be discouraged from applying for financing for fear of being declined. Gina Harman, CEO of Accion's U.S. Network, and Andrea Jung, CEO of Grameen America, explain how their organizations are serving these entrepreneurs – and highlight some important ways this work can be expanded.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
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Something Doesn’t Add Up: Improving Basic Math Skills Among Microentrepreneurs in Rural India
Running any business requires a basic knowledge of arithmetic. Entrepreneurs need to calculate change due on a sale, profits and loss, commissions on product sales, and interest rates on loans. If they can't, their business will likely struggle. As part of a study to identify whether basic math skills contribute to entrepreneurial success in rural India, Madura Microfinance assessed the numerical capabilities of microentrepreneurs. The results were surprising – and somewhat alarming.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship
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ASEAN highlights micro enterprises to address poverty
Despite a soaring economic trajectory, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is also looking to keep their feet on the ground — particularly through micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Members of both the private and public sectors gathered on Friday to discuss how best to develop MSMEs during the ASEAN Prosperity for All Summit at City of Dreams, Manila.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- SME
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Accion Venture Lab Marks Second Successful Exit, Driving Social and Financial Impact from Investment in Clip
Accion Venture Lab, the seed-stage investment initiative of financial inclusion leader Accion, announced today that it has marked its second successful exit, further demonstrating the potential for early stage investments to generate social and financial returns. Venture Lab has sold its stake in Clip, a Palo Alto and Mexico City-based company that provides cost-effective and efficient digital payment solutions to the often financially underserved segment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Mexico.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- impact investing, SME, SME finance
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World Bank Invests in Myanmar’s Financial Inclusion, $100M in Credit
The World Bank established the Financial Sector Development Project to support Myanmar’s SMEs — the latest sign of progress in the country’s economy.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Beyond the Lending Club Scandal – Why Marketplace Lending is Still Needed in Emerging Markets
Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of industry pioneer Lending Club, resigned in May amidst rumours of fraud and malpractice. Since then, critics have been trying to write off marketplace lending as a flawed business model. But it's too early to discount the value of the entire industry – especially as it emerges in markets like India and China to address the critical needs of SMEs.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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World Bank Approves US$200 Million Credit to Support Ethiopia’s Small and Medium Enterprises
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$200 million International Development Association (IDA)* credit to support the growth and development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ethiopia.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- aid agencies, SME, SME finance
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Kiva’s New Fund Targets 1 Million Women Entrepreneurs – But How Much Impact Should We Expect?
Last week, the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. State Department joined microfinance pioneer Kiva to launch the Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund. The fund matches the contributions of lenders who respond to a woman entrepreneur’s loan request on Kiva’s online platform, and hopes to crowdfund loans for 1 million entrepreneurs. But in spite of the excitement around the announcement, questions about both Kiva’s approach and the broader microfinance model remain.
- Categories
- Investing
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