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Global Health Looks To BRAC and Gates Foundation for Mobile Money
Bangladesh is going digital. Not in smart watches, sensor-based clothing or electronic health records, but in money. Mobile money. Money, that according to BRAC and the Gates Foundation could improve the economic and health outcomes of the country, especially of women and children. With a healthy appreciation of the complexities in scaling digitally, faith in innovation at the grassroots level and years of planning, these organizations just might make mobile money the future of finance.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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It’s About Launching Ecosystems, Not Just Products: Insights on the next generation of mobile financial services from the Mondato Summit Asia
As the explosive growth of mobile financial services (MFS) reshapes economies around the world, the Mondato Summit Asia brought an impressive line-up of speakers and panelists from all parts of the ecosystem to explore the next generation of MFS in Southeast Asia. Chris Connolly delivers some highlights - and tweets - from the recent conference.
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Banks Get Better Access To Tap Micro Segment
The newly launched branchless banking regulation will enable banks to expand their financial services to disadvantaged and low-income segments at affordable costs, a senior official of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has said.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Roadmap: Microfinance Industry Eyes 10m Customers By 2018
Perhaps this is the reason why Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) Chairman Nadeem Hussain believes that an impressive growth of 20-25% per annum for the past many years has still not made the country’s microfinance industry ‘relevant’ in the fight against poverty.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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NBFCs say Reserve Bank of India’s new rules will work against financial inclusion, drive towards unscrupulous moneylenders
On a typical day, Rohit Bokhare makes about Rs 800 taking passengers in his Mahindra Xylo between Saki Naka in Andheri and Adlabs Imagica on the Mumbai-Pune expressway in Raigad district. The 51-year-old defaulted on repayment of the loan he took to purchase the utility vehicle for four months, which led his financier to come inquiring. Shriram Transport Finance, the non-bank finance company that financed the vehicle, last week found his Xylo lying in a garage for repair for 20-25 days, blocking his regular cash flow. To top it up, Bokhare had a repair bill of Rs 20,000-25,000. He couldn't pay the EMIs in the previous months because of family exigencies.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Dubai-Based Social Enterprise Shines Bright For Africa
It started with a plea to help 60,000 orphans in the company’s care.The children, who were being looked after in Zimbabwean orphanages set up by the telecoms operator Econet Wireless, could not study at night because there was no power and lighting, and many were getting sick from breathing in the chemicals emitted from candles.
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- Energy
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Micro-insurance On the Up Among Insurers and Public
While insurance penetration in general remains low, micro-insurance has seen significant growth as more banks partner with insurance firms to offer micro-insurance products to low-income earners.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Financial Inclusion and SMEs Set to Soar in Ghana
Financial and insurance activities are expanding at roughly twice the pace of the overall economy and just 30 per cent of the population are formally banked, so industry leaders have good reason to be optimistic about the country’s financial services future.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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