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May 11, 2022

Implementing Effective Innovation Challenges: Three Lessons from the Last Mile Distribution Sector

Last mile distributors (LMDs) are key to bringing life-changing products to hard-to-reach consumers, and innovation is essential to their work. But as Emma Colenbrander and Charlotte Taylor at the Global Distributors Collective and Gerwin Jansen at Bopinc explain, these innovations are often not replicated, leading LMDs to spend time and resources reinventing the wheel. They explore how innovation challenges can foster greater replicability and inclusivity, and share three key insights for LMDs and other businesses and organizations working to support innovation at the last mile.

Sectors:

Technology

Sectors:

May 9, 2022

India’s Women Business Correspondents are Struggling: Three Steps to Increase Their Viability – And Boost Financial Inclusion

India is home to 17% of the world’s total female population, yet persistent gender gaps exist in the country's labor force – and its financial inclusion efforts. As Gaurav Sinha and Manpreet Kaur at Grameen Foundation India explain, these gender issues also impact India's Business Correspondents (BCs) – retail agents engaged by banks to provide financial services outside of bank branches or ATMs. They discuss how Grameen Foundation's Mittras program is addressing the obstacles faced by women BCs, and explore three ways to better support them.

Sectors:

Finance

Sectors:

May 3, 2022

Strengthening the ‘Environment’ Component of ESG: How Financial Institutions Can Bring Green Financing into the Mainstream in India

Environment, social and governance (ESG) reporting is a critical enabler for many companies that hope to leverage business for social good. But according to Aryasilpa Adhikari and Priyank Sharma at the Inclusive Finance India Initiative and Srishty Anand at Fair Finance India, though Indian financial institutions have shown an increased focus on the social and governance components of the ESG framework, the environment component has generally been less of a priority. They explore several ways India can change this dynamic and bring green finance into the mainstream.

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April 27, 2022

India’s Blanket Approach to Financial Inclusion Is Leaving Women Behind: Here Are Four Ways to Close the Gender Gap

India's Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana program has been a game-changer for financial inclusion in the country. But according to Akhand Jyoti Tiwari, Sonal Jaitly and Saloni Tandon at MSC, the campaign faces considerable challenges, as evidenced by India's substantial gender gap in account ownership and usage. They argue that the program's blanket approach has contributed to these gaps, by overlooking women’s unique needs while targeting the population at large. They explore four things the country can do to better enhance the financial inclusion of women.

Sectors:

April 26, 2022

Building a Transformative Gender Approach into Graduation Programs: Lessons Learned from a Three-Year Initiative in Latin America

Latin America is home to 86 million people living in extreme poverty – and women in the region are particularly impacted. Graduation programs have shown their effectiveness at addressing the multi-dimensional challenges of poverty, but Laura Morínigo and Carolina de Miranda at Fundación Capital argue that these programs must do more to address gender inequalities. They discuss the results of an initiative that integrated a transformative gender approach into poverty graduation, and explore how this approach can amplify these programs' impact on women.

Sectors:

April 22, 2022

The Overlooked Needs of India’s SMEs: Why Knowledge, Emotional and Relationship Capital are Key to their Pandemic Recovery and Long-Term Competitiveness

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India – and around the world – have been harshly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Samir Sathe at Wadhwani Advantage, these enterprises will need new sources of competitive advantage – including knowledge, emotional and relationship capital – if they hope to recover and grow. He explains why these alternative forms of capital are essential to running a small business, and explores how current learning and development efforts are falling short in meeting SMEs' unique needs.

Sectors:

Coronavirus

Sectors:

April 20, 2022

Protecting Clients in a Crisis: Five Lessons BRAC Learned While Re-Engineering its Microlending Strategy During COVID-19

One of the harshest economic effects of COVID-19 has been its impact on small businesses and the people who depend on them – an impact that has also affected lending institutions. As Sahed Shams Azad at BRAC Microfinance explains, pandemic-related business closures prevented many borrowers from making repayments, disrupting their lives – and BRAC Microfinance's nearly billion-dollar monthly lending cycle. He explores the dramatic adjustments the organization made to its operations in response to this crisis, and how it protected its clients' best interests throughout the process.

Sectors:

April 18, 2022

On the Edge of Edge: Why Advancements in Edge Computing Could Shift the Paradigm for Remote Connectivity, Internet of Things and Digital Development

Sectors:

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Guest Articles.

Implementing Effective Innovation Challenges: Three Lessons from the Last Mile Distribution Sector

India’s Women Business Correspondents are Struggling: Three Steps to Increase Their Viability – And Boost Financial Inclusion

Strengthening the ‘Environment’ Component of ESG: How Financial Institutions Can Bring Green Financing into the Mainstream in India

India’s Blanket Approach to Financial Inclusion Is Leaving Women Behind: Here Are Four Ways to Close the Gender Gap

Building a Transformative Gender Approach into Graduation Programs: Lessons Learned from a Three-Year Initiative in Latin America

The Overlooked Needs of India’s SMEs: Why Knowledge, Emotional and Relationship Capital are Key to their Pandemic Recovery and Long-Term Competitiveness

Protecting Clients in a Crisis: Five Lessons BRAC Learned While Re-Engineering its Microlending Strategy During COVID-19

On the Edge of Edge: Why Advancements in Edge Computing Could Shift the Paradigm for Remote Connectivity, Internet of Things and Digital Development

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