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Weekly Roundup: How Brexit Could Impact Emerging Markets + Other Non-Brexit News
We could not call this a Weekly Roundup without addressing Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (spoiler alert: like most economists, we're struggling to see any upside.) But for those readers who've had their fill of Brexit news, we have plenty more developments to share, including Capria Accelerator's new $100 million fund, Waste Ventures' tie up with Coke, and the dark side to alternative credit scoring.
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- Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Opportunity International and MyBucks: ‘A Powerful Partnership to Improve More Lives’
Opportunity International's sale of six microfinance banks to the fintech company MyBucks has sparked extensive analysis in recent days - along with some serious concerns. In this article, Opportunity CEO Vicki Escarra responds to the criticisms of the partnership leveled by former MFTransparency CEO Chuck Waterfield in his recent NextBillion post.
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- Uncategorized
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‘Ahead of the Curve’ – Three Companies Get Serious About Measuring Customers’ Financial Health
It is easy to track the number of active checking accounts or the number of dollars lent on credit cards. It is much harder to measure if those checking accounts and credit cards are actually helping customers manage their money better. To help financial services providers get serious about measuring their impact, CFSI recently released eight key indicators of financial health, and profiled three companies that are ahead of the curve in understanding customer outcomes.
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- Uncategorized
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Landscape of Microinsurance Africa study released
The study provides an in depth analysis of the evolution of microinsurance in the African region in terms of products, delivery channels, regulations and profitability indicators to the industry.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Opportunity International and MyBucks: The Future of Digital Microfinance?
Back in November 2015, to little fanfare, microfinance pioneer Opportunity International agreed to sell six banks serving sub-Saharan Africa to the MyBucks Group, a Luxembourg-based fintech company. By all accounts, this should have been bigger news, as it touches upon many of the topics and trends that are reshaping the microfinance sector, from the role of fintech to the question of responsible exits. Daniel Rozas and Gabriela Erice García explore the very real opportunities and challenges generated by this deal.
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- Uncategorized
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Zimbabwe introduces electronic Point of Sale terminals at all public institutions – but leaves out mobile money
This is expected to ease the challenges being faced with the current cash crisis that has gripped the country. It also follows the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s announcement on the reduction of bank charges that have lowered the cost of POS transactions to between 10 cents and 45 cents per transaction.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Telcos in Ghana to begin interest payments to mobile money subscribers
Some telecommunication companies are concluding moves to pay interests to their various subscribers once the Bank of Ghana directs on how the payments must be done.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Cracking the payments bank puzzle in India
Success of payments banks will require understanding the financial lives of the base-of-pyramid customers and finding innovative ways to serve them.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
