Anyone who has kept an eye on the financial services landscape over the past decade will have noticed that digital technology is transforming and disrupting many traditional product markets.
Madan, who runs a small furniture shop in Kirtinagar, New Delhi, applied for a bank loan of Rs 4 lakh. He was disappointed when the said loan was not granted by the bank. Then, he applied for one on IndiaLends, a credit underwriting and analytics platform for unsecured consumer lending.They gave him an unsecured loan of Rs 4 lakh,at an interest rate of 16 per cent.
The reluctance of banks to lend to businesses has kick-started massive innovation in business finance. This week peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Zopa passed the £1bn lending mark and is expecting to do the next billion by the end of 2016. Peer-to-peer lenders have captured the public imagination by offering an alternative to banks.
Date: 27-29 October 2015
Location: Dubai, UAE
Undoubtedly, Turkey has a lot to offer when it comes to its payment system, which is typical for countries that have experienced sustained periods of inflation and therefore put a premium on the efficiency of its payments infrastructure.
India will soon get its first set of payments banks, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved in-principle licenses for 11 applicants on Aug. 19. These applicants now have 18 months to fulfill a list of requirements laid down by the RBI, before they can be granted a full license. In all, 41 firms and individuals had applied.
Date: 20-21 October
Location: Manila, Philippines
Mondato Summits were created to offer clarity amid a chaotic and constantly changing industry. From defining a strong value proposition and forging strategic partnerships to ensuring data privacy and secure authentication, what are the factors must be taken into consideration when designing and implementing successful MFS solutions?
Date: 8 and 9 September
Location: Abuja Nigeria
The 2015 Nigeria-USA SME Financing Conference is a new bilateral trade and investment advancement initiative organized in collaboration and support of the United States Embassy of Nigeria Economic Affairs Section.
Earlier this year UK equity crowdfunding pioneer Crowdcube proudly announced that JustPark, a company pitching for investment through its platform, had raised a record breaking £3.7m. It was one the many success stories that have helped place crowdfunding squarely on the collective radar screen of startups and early stage companies. In deal terms, crowdfunding in Britain was worth about £84m in 2014 with further growth to the tune of 40% expected in the current year, according to UK innovation agency NESTA. Meanwhile across the rest of Europe the market is worth around £82m.
