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In South African Townships, 'Unseen' Businesses Catch a Big Bank's Eye
July, 31 2019
South Africa - There are estimated to be up to 5.78 million micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in South Africa according to a 2018 report by the World Bank, and while there is no recent data on the proportion of those firms which have a bank account, a 2010 survey cited in the report estimated it was less than half
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Myanmar: Growth Potential Seen in Microfinance Sector
July, 30 2019
Myanmar - With a quarter of the Myanmar population living under the poverty line and as much as 87 percent hailing from rural areas, according to the World Bank, the microfinance sector has good potential to grow in Myanmar. However, providers can be more efficient in their funding if there is better financial data on borrowers
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First Microfinance CLO since 2007 Sold by Swiss Impact Investor
July, 29 2019
Global - Impact investor responsAbility Investments AG sold a $175 million so-called microfinance collateralized loan obligation earlier this month with the help of JPMorgan Chase & Co., reviving a type of financing for emerging-market entrepreneurs and small businesses that last saw the light of day in 2007
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Pakistan: Karandaaz Plans £19.5 Million Finance for SMEs
July, 26 2019
Pakistan - Karandaaz is a joint venture of UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Bill & Melinda Foundation with committed funding of £187 million for providing financing to SMEs, microcredit and other innovative ideas for financial inclusion till 2024
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Switzerland: Schroders Buys Majority Stake in BlueOrchard
July, 26 2019
Switzerland - Schroders has become the first large European fund group to place a sizeable bet on the “impact investing” market after buying a majority stake in BlueOrchard Finance in a deal valuing the specialist boutique at more than £100m
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EIB to Support Micro-finance for Renewables in Dominican Republic
July, 26 2019
Dominican Republic - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed to providing EUR 5 million (USD 5.6m) to two lending entities in the Dominican Republic to support the financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the country over the next two years
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Côte d’Ivoire: Finance Package Approved for Azito Phase 4
July, 25 2019
Côte d'Ivoire - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Globeleq Africa, and Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) West Africa, have committed financing totalling €264 million ($294 million) for the expansion of the Azito thermal power plant (Azito Phase 4) in Côte d’Ivoire
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Belarus: EIB Loan Portfolio in Belarus May Be Increased to €1bn
July, 24 2019
Belarus - The EIB is now in negotiations with Belarus to extend the list of banks to participate in the SME support program. If everything goes well, the annual funding of projects in Belarus could reach €200-300 million, and then, in two or three years, total €1 billion
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India: RBI’s Vision 2021 Puts Focus on Customer Experience
July, 23 2019
India - The digital payments ecosystem has made substantial progress over the last few years. The country has witnessed a shift from paper to electronic payment methods with the introduction of innovative payment products such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
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India: Farming, Health New Focus Sectors for Impact Investors
July, 22 2019
India - Impact investments, a pathway to achieve the seemingly divergent goals
of financial returns and social good, are moving towards agriculture and
healthcare in the country, according to the latest report of research
organisation Brookings India.
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ESG Investing Is a Term that Is Too Often Misused
July, 19 2019
Global - It is no bad thing that investors are looking to back more socially conscious companies, and that fund managers are offering ways to do that. But the challenge of defining buzzwords leaves a lot of room for manipulation. Fund managers must do a better job of articulating exactly what qualifies for inclusion — and why
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Housing Microfinance Can Help Poor People Build Better Homes
July, 18 2019
Global - By 2025 some 1.6bn city dwellers will be living without decent, affordable housing, according to consultants at McKinsey. Many more people lack adequate shelter in the countryside. Now some lenders are starting to target this market directly
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G7 Pushed to Back $255m Financial Inclusion Fund
July, 17 2019
Global - Finance ministers from the G7 will be asked to fund a $255m initiative to improve financial inclusion in the developing world, particularly for women, through increasing access to digital money transfers and digital bank accounts
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Pension Funds Join Impact Investing Campaign for a Better World
July, 08 2019
Global - More pension funds now recognise the relevance of SDGs to be in the best interests of their beneficiaries. This is excellent news because all key early movers in impact investing simply do not have the same heft as capital markets participants to match the needs of the coming critical decade
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Jamaica: Lenders Aiming for $100m of Loans to SMEs
July, 05 2019
Jamaica - The Access to Finance Facilitation Panel, a group made up of the Government, private institutions and business development organisations, is exploring movable assets as security for loans as one of the measures aimed at hitting a $100-million target in private sector credit to small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, by 2020.
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UK Invests US$1.7m in Myanmar Mobile Banking Services
July, 05 2019
Myanmar - DaNa Facility and a microfinance institution will invest in a new mobile banking project which will extend digital financial inclusion to Myanmar’s unserved population in rural areas and disadvantaged groups.
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Regulations Drive Success of Digital Finance in Côte d’Ivoire
July, 02 2019
Côte d'Ivoire - In 2008, two years after M-Pesa was launched in Kenya, mobile money was introduced in Côte d’Ivoire. Since then, all three of the country’s mobile network operators (MNOs) have made significant investments in building agent networks, raising customer awareness and developing new use cases.
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