Tag: microfinance
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Mobile phones become pocket banks in poor countries
Breitbart: Mobile phones become pocket banks in poor countries An Afghan police officer gets his salary in a text message on his mobile phone. A Kenyan worker dials a few numbers to send money to his family. The rise of banking transactions through mobile phones is giving a whole new meaning to pocket money in…
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Microfinance: An Economic Development Failure?
Social Edge: Microfinance: An Economic Development Failure? Microfinance doesn’t clear land mines, save rain forests or stop global warming. … Today, many armchair economic development experts, trained economists and sideline pundits have started to wonder why microfinance is not the next Industrial Revolution. Since I usually agree with myself, I quote here from my speech to…
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Wealth of Opportunity: Microfinance in Person
Unitus: Wealth of Opportunity: Microfinance in Person "We are pleased to present the complete 15-minute film, Wealth of Opportunity: Microfinance in Person. The production, completed in the fall of 2009, features African and Indian borrowers whose lives and futures have been transformed through microfinance. The project is a co-production by Unitus and NonFiction Media." Wealth…
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United Prosperity Microfinance
I recently learned of a new online microfinance operation called United Prosperity. It is similar to Kiva in linking individual lenders with businesses. The difference is that United Prosperity collects an amount that becomes collateral for a larger loan from a bank. It leverages the financing power of the individual lenders. For more on the…
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Yes, Microfinance has Positive Effects on the Poor.
Next Billion: Yes, Microfinance has Positive Effects on the Poor. Microfinance in its simplest form involves extending loans to a group of borrowers (usually called self help groups) who agree to help each other by means of group savings and informal support. The typical self help group consists of 10 to 20 people who meet…
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Microfinance Heats up in East Africa
Defeating Global Poverty: Microfinance Heats up in East Africa With BRAC's (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) recent announcement of their successful raise of $62M for their Africa Loan Fund, a new benchmark/milestone has been reached for the potential growth in microfinance in East Africa. For the underdeveloped East Africa microfinance market, this is a huge amount…
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Conflicts of interest (Microfinance)
Financial Times: Conflicts of interest (If you have trouble accessing the article try clicking through at the post at the Marginal Revolution.) Bob Annibale's corner office, high up in one of London's few real skyscrapers, overlooks the Thames and the Millennium Dome from one window, Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory from another. It is…
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Giving Globally: Poverty
Newsweek: Poverty: Cheap Loans at Insanely High Rates? Give Us More What the world needs right now is more subprime lending—a lot more of it. Yes, I know that in the public imagination, subprime lending is the scourge responsible for crippling the U.S. financial system. The massive extension of credit to people who lacked extensive…