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Mastercard Expands Global Commitment To Connect 1B People
Mastercard’s latest pledge builds on its 2015 financial inclusion effort to bring financial services to 500 million people. It also builds on the firm’s goals of reaching out to people all over the world who are facing physical and financial health issues due to COVID-19.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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A No-Brainer for SMEs: How Solar Can Help Small Businesses Recover from COVID-19 – And Save Money in the Long Term
The coronavirus lockdown is leaving many small- and medium-sized enterprises – especially in emerging economies – on life support. As businesses restart, they will be seeking ways to boost their cash position. According to Philippe Flamand at candi solar, shifting to solar can save SMEs money from day one – if funders can help them overcome a key obstacle.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy
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Small Businesses in Emerging Markets Need Alternative Financing Options
This lack of resources exists worldwide, with the most substantial finance gap in the East Asia and Pacific region, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean. SMEs in emerging markets need alternative methods to secure the financing necessary to sustain their businesses.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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African Fintech Firm Flutterwave launches SME E-Commerce Portal
The service will start in 15 African countries and the only fees Flutterwave will charge (for now) are on payments. Otherwise, it’s free for SMEs to create an online storefront and for buyers and sellers to transact goods.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- coronavirus, e-commerce, emerging markets, fintech, SMEs, startups
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How Software-as-a-Service is Helping Digitize Latin America’s Small Businesses
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model is allowing small businesses around the world to compete with larger firms at a fraction of the cost. However, as Greg Mitchell at Angel Ventures points out, in markets like Latin America, the rise of SaaS has been slow and difficult. He explores how that dynamic is changing, and how SaaS is boosting the region's small businesses.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
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The Informal Economy is Complicating Government Responses to COVID-19: Will the Crisis Push Millions Toward Formality?
As COVID-19 devastates the global economy, many governments have designed support measures to help businesses and workers survive. But as Jill Lagos Shemin and James Dailey point out, this support may be ineffective in lower-income countries, where most small businesses and their employees work in the informal economy, lacking bank accounts and even valid ID. They explore some solutions governments can pursue – and trade-offs they will have to accept.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Finance
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IFAD Makes Landmark Investment in Impact Fund Helping Rural SMEs
In a continuation of its efforts to help small-scale farmers and micro-, small and medium size rural enterprises in developing countries create jobs and increase incomes, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced today an investment of US$9 million (€8.4 million) into the Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund, a blended capital impact fund.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa’s Tech Innovators Spy Opportunity Amid Pandemic
Fintech startups and others in the tech ecosystem are reappraising their services to try and cater to the economically vulnerable who are most affected — an audience that they would hope to retain once the crisis passes.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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