Sunday, November 6, 2011

Financial Inclusion Proves both Worthy and Profitable

"Mobile technologies continue to play a huge part in the effort to extending banking services to previously 'unbanked' communities and the role of mobile technologies in doing so.

"New technologies have allowed banks in Africa, Brazil, and India to reach out to remote rural populations without easy access to a bank branch. But for Ed Cutrell, head of the technology for emerging markets team at Microsoft Research India in Bangalore, inexperienced customers need a great deal of help and education to use these services effectively.

"Better financial education would help the poor and decrease their reliance on costly, informal alternatives - such as credit at usurious rates from local shopkeepers. It might also reduce their vulnerability to being mis-sold financial services that they do not need."

Read more in the Financial Times.

Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were

"It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers." Read more in the NYT .