‘Invisible' Credit? (Read This Now!)

Ten years ago, Vodafone's Safaricom launched "M-Pesa" a mobile-phone based payment system designed to ease transfer of money in Kenya among individuals and small businesses. With a maximum transaction of 70,000 Kenyan shillings ($675 USD), M-Pesa markets "to the base of the pyramid:" not only has M-Pesa taken root in more than ten other countries, but it counts 18 million active users in Kenya and, through access to a mobile monetary payment system, has lifted 2% of Kenyan households out of extreme poverty.

Microfinance started to help reduce world poverty but, in the long run, without bank accounts it is hard for beginning entrepreneurs to really get going and to help the economy. Now that paying is possible through cellular phones, more people will have the opportunity to have a bank account and hopefully cause a decrease in poverty.

Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Idcol), a government-backed Bangladeshi energy and infrastructure group, is helping bring solar power to homes in rural Bangladesh that once relied on dangerous kerosene or expensive diesel for electricity. The keys to Idcol’s expansion are financing plans that cater to lower-income people, as well as partnerships with 56 grass-roots organizations like the microfinance institution Grameen. Solar energy is reliable, clean, and more cost effective in the long run, and has become a lifeline for low-income Bangladeshis living beyond access of the main grid.

When you don’t live in a city, if you don’t have a car, you don’t have a job. But car payments can eat up a salary quickly - a New England program offers low-cost car loans to people who need them most.

This is a column on an important new development program in use in at least 40 developing countries: give the poor cash payments, contingent on their use of health clinics and their children’s school attendance, to help break the cycle of poverty.

Though not without certain flaws, GoFundMe has facilitated critical and rapid financial support for thousands of people. The company charges a 2.9 percent fee on all donations, as well as 30 cents for every transaction, to cover credit card and bank transaction fees, but its primary source of revenue is voluntary tips.

Commitment to Kashmir (CtoK) incubates small cohorts of young craftspeople, providing financial resources, technology support, and mentorship to support the growth of their craft enterprises. Since its founding in 2010, CtoK has helped 37 people establish businesses within and despite the myriad challenges that exist in a conflict zone.

The Sewing Machine Project has helped thousands of people who rely on sewing as a livelihood. The organization refurbishes used sewing machines and sends them across the world. For some recipients, access to their own sewing machine can result in economic mobility and an improved quality of life.

Refugee women arriving in Brazil have been able to achieve financial independence through the work of an organization called Women of the Global South, an organization that provides women with the tools and skills to sell textiles. In addition to providing entrepreneurial skills, it also helps refugee women with transportation, classes, sewing machines and even provides cash for emergencies and help getting in touch with family members they have been separated from.

Reducing inequality in the financial sector requires creating connections to underserved communities of color. In Boston, Berkshire Bank has begun an initiative to reach those who are “underbanked.” The bank’s new Reevex Labs facilities use coworking and event spaces to facilitate connections between communities and financial institutions. At Reevex locations, community members can connect to organizations like The Runway Project, which facilitates low-interest loans to entrepreneurs of color.