Funding
Microfinance: eBay launches MicroPlace, money transfer by mobile phone
06 Nov 07
On 24 October 2007, online auction giant eBay launched its new MicroPlace web site where investors from the USA can lend as little as US$ 50 to small business owners around the globe. Western Union and GSM Association have announced a service deal that will allow customers to send and receive low-denomination, high-frequency cross-border money transfers via mobile phones.
Concessional loans: on-lending practices of ADB loans can harm the poor says WaterAid
13 Jun 07
Asian Development Bank concessional loans for water supply and sanitation projects are being lent and re-lent by intermediaries at increasing interest rates and reach end borrowers at relatively high rates of interest. Poor users can often not afford to connect to services because projects are forced to impose high tariffs to be able to repay the loans.
Financial incentives: cash rewards boost rural sanitation in South Asia
22 May 07
Governments in South Asia are using innovative financial incentives to promote sanitation and hygiene behaviour changes in rural communities, marking a shift from subsidy-led toilet provision toward the promotion of open defecation–free (ODF) villages.
