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IFC Invests in Postal Savings Bank of China to Promote Financial Inclusion for Underserved
The FINANCIAL -- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, on December 10 announced an investment in Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC). The investment will help promote access to finance in a country, which according to World Bank Group data, is home to 12% of the world’s unbanked, some 235 million people, many of whom live in rural areas.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Omidyar Network Leads Investment in Technology that Enables Central Banks to Issue Digital Fiat Currency
Omidyar Network announced today a for-profit investment in eCurrency Mint (eCM), a Dublin-based company that has pioneered a new technology that enables central banks to issue digital fiat currency, called eCurrency. eCurrency is different from the various forms of private sector digital value available today because it is issued by a central bank and has the same legal and monetary status as notes and coins.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Microloans Don’t Solve Poverty
When Benita Chikaluma’s husband died in 1994, her family could easily have fallen into desperate poverty. Chikaluma lives in Malawi, a poor country in southern Africa where women often have little control over their finances. But thanks to the tiniest of loans — just $25 — she was able to build a business, first selling firewood and then empty plastic bottles, and now owns a home with running water and electricity.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Will Omidyarism Conquer Philanthropy?
Remember when Pierre Omidyar was seen as an odd duck in the philanthropy world?
- Categories
- Investing
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American Express Backs Mexican Fintech Startup Clip as Emerging Markets Warm to Financial Startups
Investment in new financial technologies is exploding globally, and as traditional players look for opportunities they’re increasingly turning their attention to technology companies in emerging markets.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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UMass Foundation to Divest from Investments in Coal Companies
Continuing the University of Massachusetts community’s leadership on climate change, the UMass Foundation announced today that it will divest from direct investments in coal companies. The Foundation also said that it will continue to evaluate ways to manage the endowment in a manner that promotes both environmental sustainability and socially responsible investing. The Foundation oversees $770M in endowment assets for the UMass System.
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eBay Founder’s Philanthropic Firm to Invest $350M in India
Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investing firm of billionaire eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, plans to invest over $350 million (Rs.2,333 crore) in for-profit ventures and non-profit organisations in India by 2020.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Report: West African impact investing totalled $6.8 billion in last decade
The impact investing industry in West Africa is comparatively small, but growing, totalling US$6.8 billion over the past decade, according to research by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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