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Freeing the Data to Build the Off-Grid Energy Sector: A Case Study from Tanzania
Mini-grids and solar home systems are showing promise in many parts of Tanzania and other countries. But Christopher Arderne at the World Bank and Pepukaye Bardouille at the IFC flag a key challenge: Lack of coordination and information-sharing between government and the private sector means off-grid developers may target sites that will become grid-connected before they can recover their investments. Arderne and Bardouille share some free new data tools that blend local participation and infrastructure mapping to help off-grid players avoid this risk.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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Client Protection in the Age of Fintech: New Standards Promote Best Practices in Digital Finance
Technology has vast potential to improve lives, and fintech is no exception – but it also has some clear risks and downsides. And linking a complex industry like digital finance with client protection is no easy task. Lucia Spaggiari at MFR and Isabelle Barres at Accion’s Smart Campaign explore their organizations’ joint efforts to tackle this challenge through new client protection standards for digital credit providers. They invite people to provide input on these draft standards during the six-week public comment period, which runs until March 22.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Bill Gates tweeted out a chart and sparked a huge debate about global poverty
I think the basic fact that we’ve made progress in recent decades is important. Politics and the global economy are dismal places, especially if you only see them through the lens of news coverage. It’s easy to become fatalistic.
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- Impact Assessment
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Q&A: Bill and Melinda Gates expand on 3 surprises from annual letter
Of the surprises they’ve been confronted with along their journey to philanthropy, the Gates write: “Some worry us. Others inspire us. All of them are prodding us to action. We hope they do the same for you, because that’s how the world gets better.”
- Categories
- Finance
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Viewpoint: It’s time for data to serve a higher social purpose
The bottom line is this: data and humanity – and data and business – are now intertwined, and there is no going back.
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- Technology
- Tags
- data, global development
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The Promise of Psychometric-Based Credit Scoring in Financial Inclusion
Many lenders are using alternative data to improve their credit models and better serve the underbanked. But though this data is usually finance related, non-financial data can also be uniquely useful in reaching new customers, says Innovative Assessments CEO Saul Fine. He explores how psychometric testing can provide insights into the personal character traits that define reliable borrowers, and how this can help lenders maintain good loan performance – while serving customers whose traditional credit histories might otherwise exclude them.
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- Finance
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Press release: Mastercard and The Rockefeller Foundation Announce ‘Data Science for Social Impact’ with Initial $50 Million Commitment
The collaborative was announced at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, with an initial commitment of $50 million from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Mastercard Impact Fund over five years and an invitation to other companies and philanthropies to join.
- Categories
- Technology
- Tags
- data, philanthropy
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How Does Digital Finance Impact Low-Income Clients? Insights From a New ‘Evidence Gap Map’
Digital finance can help people live happier, healthier and more prosperous lives – but those outcomes are not inevitable. And the more data we have about the effects of various digital finance products, the better those products will be, says Niamh Barry at Caribou Digital. That’s why the Partnership for Finance in a Digital Africa created the Digital Finance Evidence Gap Map, which now includes 55 studies covering 60 products. Barry highlights some key insights from the research, and how it can boost the sector’s social impact.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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