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A Country May Issue a Digital Currency in 5 Years
A new report says national digital currencies could mean greater financial inclusion, less financial crime and more efficient cross-border transmissions.
- Categories
- Finance
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Press Release: Bamboo Capital Partners Backs Amartha, a P2P Lending Platform for Micro-Entrepreneurs in Indonesia
Founded in 2010 by Indonesian entrepreneur Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, Amartha started as a microfinance institution before pivoting into Fintech P2P lending in 2016. Amartha’s mission is to connect aspiring unbanked micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas experiencing difficulties finding working capital with online lenders interested in making profitable, impactful investments.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Everything You Need to Know About African Fintech Right Now
Africa is home to the world’s youngest labor force, and a rapidly growing rate of mobile phone use. Providing essential financial services to this market has major potential—and global investors, from Silicon Valley venture capital firms to international finance institutions, are taking notice and backing African fintech companies.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Devil’s Bargain to Bank the Unbanked: Why Financial Inclusion Advocates Shouldn’t Trust Facebook’s Libra
As you've likely heard, Facebook has entered the inclusive finance arena, pitching Libra, a global cryptocurrency – ostensibly to promote financial inclusion. But as Digital Equity co-founder Valerie Khan argues, there are plenty of reasons to doubt Facebook's intentions and Libra's “social good” marketing campaign. In fact, she says, "Facebook is not being transparent about its real interest in Libra" – and both financial inclusion advocates and emerging countries should beware.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Zimbabwe’s EcoCash Woes Show Dangers of Early Reliance on Mobile Money
The growth of EcoCash was driven by its ability to extend financial inclusion by drawing in previously unbanked customers. But recurrent power blackouts and food shortages in the context of a currency crisis are now showing the fragility of that model.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Libra’s Top-Down Model Doesn’t Match Its Financial Inclusion Mission
Though the use of Libra to pay for a Spotify subscription, an outfit on Farfetch, or a holiday on Booking.com is certainly an on-ramp for mainstream adoption, the appeal and necessity of such services to the underbanked, as part of the currency’s underlying mission, is mismatched.
- Categories
- Finance
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In Sierra Leone, New Kiva Protocol Uses Blockchain to Benefit Unbanked
The National Civil Registration Commission developed the national digital identity platform with support from Kiva, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that allows people to lend money to low-income people around the world, as well as the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the United Nations Development Programme.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Bringing Digital Financial Inclusion to Women: The Impact of an Integrated Ecosystem Approach
Despite many global initiatives aimed at catalyzing formal banking, almost 1 billion women remain excluded from the financial economy. According to Ankur Seth and Neha Kumar at Intellecap, it's now clear that financial inclusion for women cannot be attained by simply giving them an account or internet access. Instead, it will require an integrated digital financial ecosystem designed for women's needs – an approach Intellecap is piloting in India.
- Categories
- Finance
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