In this report, member Mastercard presents the highlights from their 2018 annual corporate sustainability covering their global operations using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s reporting principles of materiality, sustainability context and stakeholder inclusiveness and completeness, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Download the report here.
The Smart Campaign launches new standards and guidance covering digital financial services, especially credit.
Four fintechs have been awarded £40m between them to address the £10bn funding gap caused by the lack of small business finance in the UK. The £40m is part of a £775m programme funded by Royal Bank of Scotland as a condition of its bailout during the financial crisis.A total of £425m will be given in cash grants to rival business banks and financial technology companies to support small businesses.
In a new report, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) shows how important small businesses are as job creators in 10 of America’s largest cities and their under-resourced inner cities.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a long-term local currency loan of 100 million Georgian lari (around 35 million US dollars) to the Bank of Georgia to help boost access to finance for smaller businesses and women entrepreneurs. The investment is supported by the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility, a pioneering global initiative by IFC and the Goldman Sachs Foundation to expand access to capital for women entrepreneurs.
News via Emerging Europe.
"If you want to see the future of fintech, just go to China," said Edith Yeung, managing partner of Proof of Capital, a blockchain-focused investment firm at a breakfast roundtable Fortune hosted at its inaugural Brainstorm Finance conference earlier this year.
She cited Alibaba-spinoff Ant Financial and Tencent's WeChat as paragons of digital banking and payments.
Fintech firms in Latin America are having a moment with the equity investing titans of the world, and debt investors are taking note.
Venture capital heavyweights including Softbank, Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital have boosted their equity investments in the region over the past six to 12 months, according to multiple industry sources.
News via Forbes.
The mobile banking units of e-commerce giant Alibaba and internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings are changing the landscape of financial services in China, lending to more than 100 million people so far, including those in rural areas and microbusiness owners.
Credit Scoring in Financial Inclusion: How to use advanced analytics to build credit-scoring models that increase access.
This guide emphasizes that the effectiveness of data analytics approaches often involves building a broader data-driven corporate culture.
Publication by CGAP.
CFI Research Fellow Dan Kleinbaum describes them—including their main delivery types—and their potential for helping institutions reach the underserved. Read this blog article from SME Finance Forum Member Accion about how financial institutions should think about their API strategies.
Article via the Center for Financial Inclusion, Accion.
