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What We’re Reading: “Rural and Agricultural Finance in the Spotlight at Cracking the Nut Conference”
A few weeks ago, Shari Berenbach, Director of USAID’s Microenterprise Development Office, wrote a blog post on the USAID’s IMPACTblog reported on a conference held in Washington that directly addressed the problems that face agricultural microfinance, as 600 million smallholder farmers currently live on less than $2 a day. Speakers at the conference emphasized new Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, ATMs, biometric fingerprint technology, biometrics, branchless banking, Cell phone banking, Colombia, Community, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Kenya, Latin America, Loans, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile branches, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Opportunity Kenya, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, Rural banking, Rural Outreach, Technology, USAID, USAID Impact blog, what we're reading
The Christian Science Monitor on Biometrics & Mobile Money at Opportunity Malawi
The Christian Science Monitor today posted an article entitled, “Villages Leapfrog the Grid with Biometrics and Mobile Money,” which lauds these technologies as a way for people at the bottom of the economic pyramid to access financial services and protect themselves in the case of drought and disasters. Today’s story is part of a series Read more…
Tagged Africa, Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, biometric technology, biometrics, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Crop insurance, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Fingerprint, funeral insurance, Gates Foundation, Kenya, life insurance, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, OIBM, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, South Africa, Technology, The Christian Science Monitor, what we're reading
Mobile Banking Reaches Remote Microfinance Clients in Malawi, Tanzania
Mobile banking including mobile phone banking continues to be one of the great success stories in poverty alleviation for geographically remote microfinance clients in sub-Saharan Africa. Yesterday, the Bureau of International Information Programs at the U.S. State Department published an online article highlighting the ways in which mobile banking is reaching more geographically remote clients in Tanzania and Read more…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Africa, CARE, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Clients, Dar es Salaam, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Financial Times, Healthcare, Loans, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile banking vehicle, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, OIBM, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi, Opportunity Malawi, Opportunity Tanzania, Poverty, Rural banking, Rural Outreach, Savings, State Department, sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, Technology, USAID
What We’re Watching: Podcast on Mobile Phone Banking from Gates Foundation
There’s an opportunity for banking to be an innovator. To take advantage of technology that’s out there to solve the problem of how do we serve clients in a more cost-effective way, closer to where they live. -From the podcast: “Efforts by Banks: OIBM, Part 2″ in the series “Mobile Money-Mobile Banking“ Tamara Cook, program officer, Read more…
Tagged Africa, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Gates Foundation, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, OIBM, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, podcast, Poverty, tamara cook, Technology, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
CGAP Report: Mobile Phone Banking Effectively Reaches the Unbanked
CGAP Technology Blog posted a report yesterday on the effectiveness of “branchless banking” (mobile phone banking) in seven countries, with eight high profile m-banking providers, including M-PESA in Kenya and Tanzania. Among the highlights: 37% of active clients now in the formal financial system through mobile phone banking were previously unbanked… Mobile phone banking is scaling faster than Read more…
Tagged 2010 fall microfinance conference, CGAP, cgap technology blog, Credit Suisse, Daryl Skoog, Electronic wallet strategy, Ending Poverty, fall microfinance conference, Financial services, Kenya, Loans, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Tanzania, Technology
What We’re Reading: Putting Savings in the Bank in the Era of Climate Change
Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We feature works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. The following Read more…
Tagged brazil, Cell phone banking, Children, Clients, Climate Change, Community, Electronic banking, Electronic transactions, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Loan Officer, M-banking, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile phone banking, Mobile Phones, Poverty, Savings, Technology, The Economist, what we're reading, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
What We’re Reading: “Investing in Women & Girls” (MediaPlanet supplement, USA Today)
Every Wednesday on our blog, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We’ll feature pieces or works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the Read more…
Tagged 10000 women initiative, 10k Women, 2010 fall microfinance conference, afghanistan, Africa, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CARE, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Chance Tsamwa, Children, Clients, Community, Conference, Education, Ending Poverty, fall microfinance conference, Financial services, Gates Foundation, Girls, Goldman Sachs, Half the Sky, Kenya, Kiva, Loans, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, Melinda Gates, MFI, Microfinance, Microfinance Conference, Millennium Development Goals, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Mothers, Nike, Nike Foundation, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Malawi, opportunity microfinance conference, Oprah Winfrey, Poverty, Ruth-Anne Renaud, Savings, Students, Technology, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UN Millennium Campaign, Un millennium development goals, USA Today, Washington D.C., Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
Innovations in Technology–Reaching More Clients
Daryl Skoog, Opportunity’s SVP of technology, develops innovations that improve the lives of our clients. Recently, I had the chance to join a conference call with the Colorado-based Skoog to learn about the exciting strategies and products he’s working on. Some highlights from the call: Cell phone banking[/intlink] is one of the most exciting tools to bring Read more…
Tagged Africa, ATMs, biometric technology, biometrics, Board of Governors Conference, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Clients, Community, Conference, Daryl Skoog, Ending Poverty, fall microfinance conference, Financial services, Kenya, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile banking vehicle, mobile branches, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Kenya, Opportunity Malawi, opportunity microfinance conference, Poverty, Savings, Smart cards, Technology, Washington D.C., World Bank
Top 5 Posts About Technology
Cell phone banking, smart cards featuring biometric technology, land-mapping using GPS: technology innovations are expanding the reach of microfinance in the developing world. Learn and go deeper into microfinance with five of our all-time favorite Opportunity blog posts about technology: Chicago Microfinance Conference: Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance? (5/10/10) Ask a Microfinance Expert: M-Banking (2/9/10) Read more…
Tagged Africa, biometric technology, biometrics, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Ending Poverty, Loans, M-banking, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, Smart cards, Technology
The Potential of Cell Phone Banking
Wondering if cell phone banking can reach the unreachable? CGAP Technology Blog has published the results of a discussion with Daryl Collins (co-author of Portfolios of the Poor) and Olga Morawczynski (of Grameen Foundation) from June’s Mobile Money Summit, an examination that highlights some of the keys to effective cell phone banking. Blog author Mark Read more…
Tagged biometric technology, biometrics, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, CGAP, cgap technology blog, Grameen, Grameen Foundation, Insurance, Kenya, Loans, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Opportunity Kenya, Opportunity Malawi, Portfolios of the Poor, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day, Professional training, Savings, Technology, Training
