July 8, 2019 @ 11:39 am By JD Alois  |  

In a paper entitled “Fintech: the Experience So Far,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that, while there are regional differences, “countries were broadly embracing the opportunities of Fintech to boost economic growth and inclusion.” The pursuit of Fintech innovation is being balanced with the… Read More

March 28, 2019 @ 2:56 am By Cali Haan  |  

Two speakers at this year’s World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington DC have cautioned that blockchain technology’s true potential for land registry should not be overstated, Reuters reports. Tim Robustelli of New America, a “think and action tank” consisting of a “research institute,… Read More

February 11, 2019 @ 7:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Marketplace Lending Association (MLA) has announced that it is backing the “Guidelines for Investing in Responsible Digital Financial Services.” These guidelines are the creation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is part of the World Bank Group. The MLA represents some of the… Read More

September 25, 2018 @ 11:51 am By JD Alois  |  

Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK) founder and CEO Patrick Byrne has purchased 43% of Medici Land Governance – an existing blockchain portfolio company of Overstock.  Details on the transaction were not provided. Medici Land Governance was founded in 2018 to help individuals around the world connect by using blockchain and… Read More

August 26, 2018 @ 7:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

First announced earlier this month, the World Bank has revealed their first “blockchain bond” or bond-i easily raised A$110 million. Arunma Oteh, World Bank Treasurer, said he was delighted that the “pioneer bond transaction” was well received by investors. The bone was issued using a… Read More

August 10, 2018 @ 8:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The World Bank is issuing a bond on blockchain. The first of its kind issuance is being orchestrated via the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) as sole arranger.  According to the World Bank, the security will be created and managed completely using distributed ledger technology… Read More

February 21, 2018 @ 2:38 pm By Victoria Silchenko, Ph.D.  |  

“Is the future of cryptocurrencies gold or dust?” That million-BTC question was debated at one of the sessions of the recent World Government Summit – a “Davos forum” based in Dubai which is often called the City of the Future. More than 4,000 participants from… Read More

May 23, 2017 @ 9:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed a “Memorandum of Cooperation” agreeing to establish and develop the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN). AFIN will strive to increase the adoption of Fintech innovation and… Read More

April 30, 2017 @ 9:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Transferwise is a great service. I know it is great because I am a customer. Awhile back I reached out to my bank (big, multinational, global brand name with a storied history) and told them I needed to quickly transfer some money to an international… Read More

January 3, 2017 @ 7:46 am By Jessica Pham  |  

The World Bank established the Financial Sector Development Project to support Myanmar’s SMEs — the latest sign of progress in the country’s economy.  The five-year project includes $100 million in credit, which will be used to allow SMEs increased access to financial services.  The project will… Read More

December 24, 2015 @ 12:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

  “In 5 years, we will no longer talk about “Crowdfunding,” it will just be “funding.” Crowdfunding will just be one of the ways that early stage companies and SMEs gain access to capital.  Just like online trading of public securities is considered the primary… Read More

December 21, 2015 @ 7:45 am By Erin Hobey  |  

  “We believe the potential of crowdfunding is not about a single company or single crowdfunding platform.  It is about the evolution from an institutional framework for allocating capital (otherwise known as banks, funds, and foundations) to a more individually driven framework enabled by existing and… Read More

December 15, 2015 @ 11:40 am By Sam Raymond  |  

If you are an entrepreneur in emerging markets, you have probably heard a lot about crowdfunding, but wondered how it could be useful for your early-stage business. In developed markets, crowdfunding is swelling the ranks of early-stage entrepreneurs and bolstering the pipeline of enterprises that… Read More

June 18, 2015 @ 8:42 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Fresh from its successful late 2014 Indiegogo campaign for its Lantern reciever which raised more than $637K from 6,642 backers,  New York-based Outernet Hardware has returned to the crowd, this time on its private fundraise on Fundable.  Outernet, ‘Humanity’s Public Library,’ enables anyone to receive data anywhere in… Read More

May 19, 2015 @ 12:12 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Cloud Lending Solutions, an end-to-end lending solution built natively on salesforce.com, announced the appointment of  Harold Rosen to the company’s Advisory Board, bringing his more than 30 years of experience in the microfinance industry, including driving social impact investing at the World Bank. In addition, the company is expanding… Read More

December 17, 2013 @ 10:45 am By Sherwood Neiss  |  

The future of Impact Investing and Crowdfunding was on display in Nairobi, Kenya last week.  At the World Bank/infoDev’s annual funding meeting their budget was divvyed up among the creation of Climate Innovation Centers (CIC) in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Vietnam and the Caribbean and… Read More

October 20, 2013 @ 1:10 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Crack The Crowd has released part one of what is to be a three-part interview with Dr. Richard Swart, who is a partner at Crowdfund Capital Advisors and the head of the crowdfunding research program at UC Berkeley. He was instrumental in the recently released… Read More