On the whole, it’s been a good year for startups in Africa, according to recent reporting in Quartz. Coming up on the half mark in 2018, total fundraising on the continent has hit $168.6 million — already ahead of 2017’s full-year take of $167.7 million and four...
When Kiva got its start a decade ago, the needs of small businesses in developed nations like the U.S. were not its original area of interest. Cofounded by two Stanford MBAs, the alternative lender came into existence when its two founders realized that there was...
In a move away from its traditional online lending model focused on small loans, Kiva is transitioning its energies instead to “social underwriting.” Under that approach, before would-be borrowers can be granted a $10,000 crowdfunded loan, which typically carries no interest, the company wants applicants to...
September 02, 2019
HSBC has issued its first yuan blockchain-based letter of credit transaction, Reuters reported. The move is significant progress in the use of the Voltron trade finance platform, which was developed by eight banks, including HSBC, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered. While the platform has predominately been used in individual pilot cases, Ajay Sharma, HSBC’s regional […]
December 18, 2015
In a move away from its traditional online lending model focused on small loans, Kiva is transitioning its energies instead to “social underwriting.” Under that approach, before would-be borrowers can be...
