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Savings groups boost financial inclusion and women’s empowerment among rural poor, three-country study finds
“What we’re seeing is that that the poor can and do save for themselves when given the right opportunity, and this has positive effects elsewhere in their lives,” says Dean Karlan, professor of economics at Yale and co-author of the study. “We see savings and business income increase, but importantly there is also a boost in women’s empowerment. As women get more access to these groups, their say in household decisions also increases.”
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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6 Surprising Reasons Why South Africans Are Not Big On Banks
BCG recently undertook extensive research into the process of financial inclusion in South Africa. This primary research which is based on surveys, interviews and a fresh analytical approach, yielded several interesting themes about the country’s use and perceptions of formal banking channels. Bringing more people into the financial system has the ability to enhance GDP growth, reduce poverty and create new market opportunities for the private sector.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Money Management Application ‘Swadhaar Saathi’ Wins $100,000 from MetLife Foundation Innovation
Swadhaar Saathi has been announced winner of the MetLife Foundation Inclusion Plus competition in India. The competition was open to entrepreneurs, businesses and non profit organisations and aimed to discover innovative solutions to promote financial capability and access to financial services in India. With more than 100 entries, Swadhaar Saathi won the grand prize with its money management application and collected a grant of 100,000 dollars.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Press Release: Calvert Foundation Announces Capital Aggregation Investment Business
Calvert Foundation today announced a new business line, Capital Aggregation, which expands Calvert Foundation's existing services to more actively aggregate and facilitate capital to meet the evolving needs of the communities they serve.
- Categories
- Investing
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PayPal Seeks License to Enter Competitive Mobile Wallet Space in India
Global payments company PayPal is eyeing a prepaid payment instrument license to enter the competitive mobile wallet space in the country, said three sources familiar with the development.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Microfinance Pioneer FINCA launches FINCA Impact Finance
FINCA, the global institution that pioneered Village Banking™ and helped prove the sustainable microfinance model as key to economic development, recently announced the launch of FINCA Impact Finance.
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- Uncategorized
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The Fight For The $400 Billion Business Of Immigrants Sending Money Home
A new class of startups is using bitcoin and the blockchain to drastically lower fees as they try to grab a share of the remittance market from old competitors like Western Union.
- Categories
- Technology
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Geodata Technology Moving Into New Fields. Literally.
Geodata and ICT applications help farmers with precision farming, leading to increased yields and improved quality. This information has not yet been made available to financial institutions at a large scale, but it has the potential to increase access to finance for smallholder farmers. The Rabobank Foundation and NpM have launched a Board of Inspiration to help speed the process.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
