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> Posted by Rishabh Khosla, Tahira Dosani, and Vikas Raj, Accion Venture Lab
Small businesses are the engine of employment, contributing up to 85 percent of new full-time jobs in low-income countries, and two out of three new jobs in countries like the U.S. The IFC finds a strong correlation between the health of the small business community, economic growth, and poverty alleviation.
Despite these Herculean responsibilities, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the world over struggle to access the financing they need to maintain cash flow, hire new employees, purchase new inventory or equipment, and grow their businesses. The IFC estimates that the unmet demand for MSME finance in emerging markets is $2.1-2.6 trillion (around 1/3 of outstanding loan balances to this segment). Unlike larger firms that can access capital markets, MSMEs must seek financing from banks or non-bank finance companies (NBFCs). Yet traditional lending approaches often fail to address this “missing middle” because the cost of diligence and underwriting is too high relative to the potential revenues from the smaller loans that MSMEs need. This situation is worse in emerging markets because of a lack of reliable financial data and high levels of informality. According to the Harvard Business Review, the financial crisis only exacerbated the situation: borrower balance sheets are still recovering, and banks, faced with new regulatory requirements, have reduced the share of lending to MSMEs in 9 out of 13 OECD countries.
> Posted by Allyse McGrath, Senior Associate, FI2020, CFI
Once in a while, we in the Accion D.C. office gather in our state-of-the-art movie theater (a.k.a. conference room) for some collective viewing. Now that the World Cup has ended, this viewing has a lot less to do with fútbol and more to do with our day jobs. Last Friday’s feature was a recently-released documentary that highlights those who are left behind by the U.S. financial system. Spent: Looking For Change follows four households who represent the quarter of American households that are underserved and held back by the current financial system.
The film focuses on how families with precarious financial and economic lives end up using services like check cashers, title loans, and payday loans – the tools that those without bank accounts or with poor credit must rely on in the absence of affordable and accessible financial services. In one example, a former nurse and single mother had to stop working to care for an incapacitated family member. She turned to title loans to pay the bills and when she couldn’t keep up the loan repayments, the title company repossessed her car. Another family, which took out one $450 payday loan, is now stuck in a cycle of high interest rates and hidden fees because the family’s income is not high enough to pay off the debt altogether. Each narrative helps us understand why, in 2012, underserved Americans spent an estimated $89 billion on interest and fees.
> Posted by Danielle Piskadlo, Manager, Investing in Inclusive Finance, CFI
It is an exciting time at the nexus of technology and financial services. For assessing creditworthiness, for example, there are now tools available that move beyond traditional methods. Financial service providers are able to identify high potential, low risk entrepreneurs through Entrepreneurial Finance Lab’s (EFL) psychometric testing, which assesses a borrower’s character, abilities, and attitude. DemystData uses the big data available about potential customers to help financial service providers evaluate and validate their loan applications. Along with these two groups, there are many more entering this space, harnessing technologies and data types once separate from financial services to better understand potential clients.
In recent news, banks in Russia are now using GPS to assess borrowers’ credit ratings. Yet-to-be-disclosed banks in Russia have signed an agreement with AlterGeo, the “Foursquare of Russia,” to build a “picture” of users through their location services. At this time it remains unclear what specific information will be collected and how it will be assessed.
> Posted by Amanda Lotz, Financial Inclusion 2020 Project Coordinator, CFI
The Financial Inclusion 2020 campaign at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion is building a movement toward full financial inclusion by 2020. Accordingly, this blog series will spotlight financial inclusion efforts around the globe, share insights coming out of the creation of a roadmap to full financial inclusion, and highlight findings from research on the “invisible market.”
Just imagine for a minute. You are in your late 20’s and about to go on a second date. You are really looking forward to it; after all, your date is attractive and shares your interests. Everything seems to be going great, until your date brings up his/her excellent credit score and then asks about yours. What do you say?
A recent article in the New York Times, “Perfect 10? Never Mind That. Ask Her for Her Credit Score,” inspired this scenario. When my boyfriend and I applied for our lease, naturally we talked about credit scores, as it was a part of the application process. Luckily, we were okay. But, I can see how this could be contentious for a couple if one person has a poor credit score.
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