Microfinance news and trends

High Tech Microlending — And Why Chickens Hatch Great ROI
Loans // June 08, 2020

The World Bank distributes about $25 billion a year to countries through governments that identify areas where investment is needed and capital can be deployed to build infrastructure. Traditional conduits of lending, including banks and other entities, issue trillions of dollars to keep the wheels...

Report: YTD India FinTech Investments Top $722M
Fintech Investments // August 23, 2019

Alt lending, and, of course, digital payments, were top of mind for investors targeting India FinTechs these past few weeks. We take stock of two quarters and the YTD — and some triple digit funding rounds — amid the country’s changing financial services landscape.  

What Cambodia’s Debt Crisis Means For Microlending
South Asia // August 13, 2019

There is a debt crisis slowly but surely building in Cambodia that could see millions of people losing their homes and family farms — the result of microlending run amok amongst 15 percent of the population. And while the individual loans are small — relatively...

Amazon, Chase Donate To Whole Foods Planet Foundation
Amazon // March 03, 2019

Whole Foods has announced that both Amazon and Chase will donate a portion of purchases made with an Amazon Rewards Visa Card to Whole Planet Foundation, a nonprofit that fights global poverty through microloans. The companies will donate an amount equal to 2 percent of in-store and...

Interviews & Exclusives
High Tech Microlending — And Why Chickens Hatch Great ROI

June 08, 2020
The World Bank distributes about $25 billion a year to countries through governments that identify areas where investment is needed and capital can be deployed to build infrastructure. Traditional conduits of lending, including banks and other entities, issue trillions of dollars to keep the wheels of commerce growing. But for roughly 2 billion individuals around […]

Report: YTD India FinTech Investments Top $722M

August 23, 2019
Alt lending, and, of course, digital payments, were top of mind for investors targeting India FinTechs these past few weeks. We take stock of two quarters and the YTD —...

What Cambodia’s Debt Crisis Means For Microlending

August 13, 2019
There is a debt crisis slowly but surely building in Cambodia that could see millions of people losing their homes and family farms — the result of microlending run amok...

Quick Reads
Report: YTD India FinTech Investments Top $722M

August 23, 2019
Alt lending, and, of course, digital payments, were top of mind for investors targeting India FinTechs these past few weeks. We take stock of two quarters and the YTD — and some triple digit funding rounds — amid the country’s changing financial services landscape.  

Amazon, Chase Donate To Whole Foods Planet Foundation

March 03, 2019
Whole Foods has announced that both Amazon and Chase will donate a portion of purchases made with an Amazon Rewards Visa Card to Whole Planet Foundation, a nonprofit that fights global poverty...

Kiva Lending Scraps Microfinance For Social Underwriting

December 18, 2015
In a move away from its traditional online lending model focused on small loans, Kiva is transitioning its energies instead to “social underwriting.” Under that approach, before would-be borrowers can be...