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What was the Most Influential NextBillion Post of 2017? Vote for Your Favorite
“Fast away the old year passes.” That lyric from “Deck the Halls” always hits home this time of year – and in 2017, it resonates particularly strongly. Across the social sectors, the year often felt like a race against time (or against competing societal forces) and many of our most popular posts reflect that sense of urgency. Here are the most influential posts from the last twelve months, one from each month, in our sixth annual holiday contest. Vote early, vote often.
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Will Microfinance Still Exist 10 Years From Now? Thoughts from European Microfinance Week
Does microfinance still have a place in global development? Grassroots Capital Management President Paul DiLeo tackled the subject in the closing plenary of the 2017 European Microfinance Week, which asked where microfinance – and MFIs – would be in five or 10 years. He discusses three key takeaways from the discussion, which included some surprising insights into the role the often-maligned industry can still play in poverty alleviation.
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A Milestone in Innovative Finance: Exploring the First-Ever Outcome-Based DIB for Poverty Alleviation in Africa
The graduation approach to poverty alleviation has been effective in helping raise incomes and savings over the long term. But traditional funding models don't provide enough flexibility or performance incentives to boost this impact, since funding is typically tied to activities rather than outcomes. To address this challenge, Village Enterprise and Instiglio have partnered with USAID and DFID to launch the first-ever outcome-based development impact bond for poverty alleviation in Africa.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise
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There’s No App to Fix Farming – A Lifelong Smallholder Shares What Social Business is Getting Wrong
When it comes to farming, the social business world is getting it all wrong, says Gaita Kariuki, a lifelong smallholder and CEO of Selina Wamucii, a Kenya-based fresh produce startup. From overselling the impact of off-grid solar and access to loans, to underestimating the importance of middlemen, he says much of the social business sector's approach to agriculture makes little sense to smallholders.
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- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Beyond ‘Send Money Home’: The Complex Gender Dynamics Behind Mobile Money Usage
In Kenya, gender doesn’t factor as strongly in accessing mobile money accounts as it does for formal sector accounts. This is surprising because in Africa women are less digitally connected than men. However, the networked nature of mobile money explains why more women adopt the technology. Susan Johnson writes that financial inclusion analysis and policy must factor in how women use their money, how it connects them to family and how financial services can facilitate this.
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- Finance, Technology
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The UBI Debate: What We Know – and Don’t Know – About Universal Basic Income
Policymakers from Nairobi to Silicon Valley have lately been considering the same approach to reducing poverty: universal basic income (UBI). Evidence from ongoing randomized evaluations will be key to understanding the impact of UBI, and how this disruptive concept might fit into a broader portfolio of social policies. In the meantime, there is much we already know from impact evaluations of related interventions that can help make sense of the debate. Alison Fahey at J-PAL provides an overview.
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- Uncategorized
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Can Digital Credit Outperform Microcredit in the Developing World?
Microfinance has been hailed as a transformative force for poor households and entrepreneurs in emerging markets. But recent evidence suggests it is not the silver bullet it was once thought to be. Meanwhile, mobile phones have become ubiquitous in most developing countries, and Alexandra Wall, Natasha Beale and Carson Christiano explore whether digital credit can do a better job than microcredit in meeting the needs of the underserved.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Digital Isn’t Always the Answer: Building Choice into Financial Inclusion Solutions for Smallholder Farmers
Smallholder farmers often live in remote villages, located hours away from towns and cities where they might be able to access consistent mobile networks, bank accounts or other formal financial access points. So while many farmers are curious about the idea of receiving the payment for their cash crops in digital formats, the options for them to use that digital currency are limited. Instead of pushing technology for technology’s sake, financial inclusion projects ought to seek diverse solutions that are appropriate and accessible for customers based on their needs.
- Categories
- Agriculture
