The Wall Street Journal has celebrated the winning enterprises of The Financial Inclusion Challenge 2017, sponsored by MetLife Foundation. BIMA, Kinara Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance Lab were all recognized as leaders in the field of financial inclusion at an awards ceremony at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
Marketing makes us want to buy all kinds of stuff. But can marketing magic make saving more appealing, fun, or even cool? Virtually everyone would like to retire comfortably and to be free from financial worry on a daily basis. Yet, many people don’t save enough even for unexpected expenses—a proposition that’s even more challenging for low-to-medium income people. Look to a U.S. Federal Reserve Board survey published in May 2016, in which 46 percent of respondents said they couldn’t cover even a $400 emergency expense without selling something or borrowing money.
MetLife Foundation designed its financial inclusion strategy after extensive consultation with global leaders in the industry. We wanted to ensure that our work built on, rather than duplicated, efforts already underway.
Microfinance provides opportunities for borrowers to start and reinvest in businesses; generate income; and carve their own pathways out of poverty. But the path isn’t always so smooth. Poor households are especially vulnerable to economic shocks, ranging from common situations like illness and death in the family, to exceptional crises like health epidemics, natural disasters, and political instability.
Through its Field Guide to a Regenerative Economy collaborative storytelling project, Capital Institute, the think-tank founded by former JPMorgan banker and Regenerative Capitalism architect John Fullerton, is launching Regenerating Tottenville, a project that reveals the science behind the revitalization of communities of Americans who self-identify as voiceless and forgotten.
In April 2017, Whole Planet Foundation signed a contract with a new microfinance partner in greater Accra called ID Ghana. To gain insight into the bustling Makola market in Accra, it may be helpful to read this 2015 article in the New Yorker profiling Ghanaian business owners.
Answering the call for increasing energy self-reliance, a grassroots electricity-sharing model is emerging. “Community microgrids,” comprising community-owned or subscribed solar PV and other renewable energy sources, offer participants and surrounding consumers the security of energy resilience in times of grid failure and protection from energy price increases driven by volatile energy markets.
FCA is contributing daily to the circular economy transition. One example is the over three tons of fabric and seat belt remnants that FCA donates to Cooperárvore in Betim, Brazil every year. The cooperative uses these remnants to make fashion accessories and other items. Over the past 10 years, Cooperárvore has contributed to improving the quality of life of more than 70 households in the area surrounding FCA’s Betim Assembly Plant.
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