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Building an Inclusive Financial System, One City at a Time – an Interview with Citi’s Bob Annibale
I recently had a chance to speak with Bob Annibale, global director of Citi Community Development. Annibale’s work for Citi touches on everything from microfinancing to neighborhood revitalization. We discussed partnering with mayors, helping the unbanked, immigrant integration and more.
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Kopo Kopo Changes Focus From Payments to Micro-Lending, Announces New CEO
After raising $2.10 million in equity financing, Kenyan payments platform Kopo Kopo is pivoting its business away from the Lipa Na M-Pesa service it offers in partnership with Safaricom to focus on micro-loans to businesses. To this effect, the company has appointed a new CEO to direct the company’s growth and shift in focus.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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ANALYSIS: Bitcoin vs. M-Pesa: Digital payments innovators battle in Kenya
On 14 December, a high court in Kenya will come to a preliminary decision in a battle between Bitcoin remittance and payments company BitPesa, which is suing Safaricom, the telecom company which operates M-Pesa. Also suing is Lipisha, the payment company that gateways BitPesa and M-Pesa. There's plenty of irony to go round here. Bitcoin and M-Pesa should not be pitted against one another - both are elements of a payments revolution that is happening right now and which will be remembered as one of the great technology success stories of the 21st century.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Yunus Social Business Graduates ’15
Fifteen entrepreneurs have graduated from the first ever Yunus Social Business (YSB) accelerator programme. The programme which was launched at the beginning of 2015 targeted a cross section of social entrepreneurs who were asked to submit their proposals.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Thank You
It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S. And as we have in the past, we'd like to say thank you to our readers, our sponsors and our contributors. But this year we're especially thankful. Here's why.
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Microfinance in a Dangerous World
Held in the aftermath of the brutal Paris terrorist attacks, last week's European Microfinance Week conference had a special resonance. But the event also provided a hopeful response to recent grim headlines: it brought a strong focus to the ways the microfinance industry and broader financial inclusion movement can lessen the tensions that drive global conflicts – and how they can help communities recover when natural or man-made disasters strike.
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Exploring the Evolving Landscape of Credit Bureaus in India
Crif High Mark Credit Information Services Pvt. Ltd, one of the four credit bureaus in India, in November, launched its first customer- specific product—online credit report and credit score. These will come with risk indicators such as low, medium and high so that the customer can understand what the score means, said Kalpana P. Pandey, chief executive officer and managing director, of the company. The bureau offers two products—credit report at and credit report and score. Pandey spoke to Mint about the evolving landscape of credit bureaus in India, and the company’s plans to service small finance banks and payments banks.
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- South Asia
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- credit scoring
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Cash Transfers in India: Look Before You Leap
The relentless focus on financial inclusion on the deposits side leads to a logical implication that these accounts can be used to transfer money from the government to the targeted recipient, making the action seamless and free from manual intervention. This is the basis of a direct benefit transfer where a wage or pension is transferred to the account without the individual going to the office asking for it. The corollary is the same can be used for other government programmes, ranging from food subsidy to conditional transfers like the mid-day meal programme for children. The examples of Brazil and Mexico have often been given to buttress this argument. How can we evaluate this option?
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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