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Weekly Roundup: A Different Kind of Pivot in SE Asia, a Surprising Collaboration in India and South Africa’s Sweet Move
Among the discussion items in this week's Roundup: the bumper crop of social enterprises in Southeast Asia; India's uphill climb toward financial inclusion; some mixed news about microfinance; South Africa takes action against obesity; and Sisu's carefully planned success.
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- Uncategorized
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The Microfinance Business Model: Enduring Subsidy and Modest Profit
Microfinance institutions aim to serve customers ill-served by traditional commercial banks and thus the associated business model is challenging by definition. And yet the industry has achieved impressive scale reaching 211 million customers globally in 2013. Paradoxically, recent evidence suggests that the benefits of microcredit to borrowers may be modest. For example, six prominent randomized controlled trials found small impacts of access to microcredit on the incomes and consumption levels of marginal borrowers, though the studies found some “potentially important” (though modest) impacts on “occupational choice, business scale, consumption choice, female decision power, and improved risk management.” (Banerjee et al., 2015, p. 14).
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The Volatile ‘Face’ of Digital Financial Services in Zambia
Mobile money operators in Zambia – a country where only half of the residents are even aware of the concept of mobile money – don’t seem to stick around for very long; in fact, 90 percent of them have been in the business for less than one year. What can stop the churn? Research shows that higher income would help, and that can result from better training.
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- Uncategorized
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Can Microfinance Still Make a Difference?
It's the Yangon entrepreneurial dream: a teashop in the suburbs to call your own. But for Ma Thandar, a 39-year-old mother of two, it is just a dream – and one she’s unlikely to be able to attain.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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The Rise of Black Start-Ups and Social Entrepreneurship in South Africa
With tough economic times and unemployment rising in an ever-changing world that is becoming more democratised, it is no surprise that there is a rise in black start-ups and social entrepreneurship. The reality for most black entrepreneurs is that they venture into entrepreneurship not of out career luxury, but rather out of the need to survive economically. Their long-term objective is not to create wealth, but merely to keep the business afloat while living off the profits.
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- Uncategorized
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Rwanda Finalises Process to Interlink Financial Sector
The government of Rwanda is in final stages to interlink its financial sector, a move that will see the banking, microfinance, pension, insurance as well as capital market linked together.
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- Uncategorized
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India’s Microfinance Sector Sees 29% Rise in Loan Disbursements in First Quarter
Microfinance industry has witnessed 29 per cent growth in loan disbursements during the first quarter of 2016-17, a report says.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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- lending, microfinance
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South Africa is a Regional Leader in the Financial Inclusion of Women
South Africa is the only country in the Southern African Development Community in which women are more financially included than men, new research shows.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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