Monday, December 14, 2015

What we read at MIC this week

Links to interesting reads!

Friday, November 20, 2015

What we read at MIC this week

Links to some interesting reads

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage Resource Guide

·      This guide is meant to be a resource and tool for development practitioners. The document begins with a practical ‘Top 12 Ways to Use…’ the manual which is helpful and efficient, with links. Finance is discussed throughout the document in terms of prevention such as financial literacy/education for young women and also in terms of implications that early marriage can have on girls’ and women’s financial lifestyles (i.e. control over household finances, access to an individual bank account, etc…).   

Financial Inclusion: Creating and inclusive world

·         This annual report touches on strides made in the financial inclusion movement, including the release of information provided by the Global Findex, and discusses plans to continue forward.  

Who saves the least money? Financial exclusion around the world – interactive

·         Check out this interactive world map to learn about financial inclusion in terms of borrowing, savings, spending, accounts, and others.  

An Introduction to System Mapping

·         Ideas for tackling tough societal problems using system mapping to better understand the various parts of a system and how they influence each other. The post includes links to types of system maps and other examples of how they can be used to creatively think about solving a problem. 

Happy #WorldToiletDay! Here’s What It’s Like to Live Without One

·         A post on NPR’s Goats and Soda blog for World Toilet Day which was November 19.  

Friday, November 6, 2015

What we read at MIC this week

Links to interesting reads:

·         Touches on an important discussion revolving around mobile microinsurance. “The potential for mass distribution is signifi­cant but brings new risks as new players enter the mar­ket, which challenges existing regulatory principles and practices.” This article talks about mobile insurance in the context of the 3 pillars of Responsible Finance: 1) Consumer Protection Regulation, 2) Financial Institutions’ Self-regulation, and 3) Financial Capability.

·        Early-warning systems are an important piece of the risk management system. Kenya is preparing for heavier than usual rainfalls and seem to have considered various potential impacts and taken measures to prevent livestock.

·     On the evolution of health spending and its link to the economic slowdown. The rise in health spending will occur because “the underlying forces pushing up medical costs remain in place”. 

·         This briefing note reports on some of the key insights and trends found during the regional microinsurance landscape study of Africa. The results show a comparable growth of 30% in lives covered by microinsurance since 2011. The briefing note also reports interesting results on distribution and premiums and claims.  

·         An overview and analysis of the current state of microinsurance/inclusive insurance regulation in Southern African Development Community. It was found that more than 95% of the entire insurance market in SADC can be classified as the MI target market. So far only two countries in SADC have enacted MI-specific regulation.  

Monday, October 26, 2015

What we read at MIC this week


Links to some interesting reads!



Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is more than just toilets

  • This article touches on the important topic of sanitation. An overview of the CLTS process and discussion about two sanitation business models: Isolated Business Model and Integrated Business Model.

The Landscape of Microinsurance in Ghana 2015: Supply and Demand Side Report

  • A follow up to the 2012 survey, this study looks at both the supply and demands sides of the microinsurance market in Ghana. Nearly 30% of the country’s population is covered by some type of microinsurance.

Advancing data for the development of microinsurance markets in SADC

  • An overview of the steps being taken by Southern African Development Community (SADC) regarding the collection and analysis of microinsurance data in order to improve access to insurance in the region. The country profiles offer contextualized examples of how data collection and analysis is currently being done in each setting.  

Encyclical Letter

  • Pope Francis recently published his first Encyclical Letter (82 page document), these are normally intended for the 1.2 billion Catholics, however he wrote this one to all people everywhere. It is intended as a reflection on what we are doing to our environment and a central theme of the document is the impact that this damage has on the poorest. “Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest”.