1. Microfinance: A look at the microfinance industry's rebuilding efforts in a post-Ebola West Africa. Devex
2. Unbanked: In what sounds similar to a time-compressed version of this experiment, Accion Venture Lab's Managing Director reports on his experience of being unbanked for a day. Medium
3. Development Valentines: Every February, Love is in the air...and on Twitter. Storify
4. Inclusion vs. Laundering: It's not always easy for financial institutions to walk the line between improving financial inclusion and preventing fraud by strengthening Know Your Customer requirements. How do financial institutions strike the right balance? The Guardian
5. Transparency: A recent RCT in Indonesia shows evidence that simple techniques to increase transparency and community participation in a food subsidy program (providing price information, ID cards, and forming village committees) can increase efficiency and reduce leakage. NBER
Savings groups are a popular and effective way of helping poor households increase their savings. But is there a way to incorporate the mechanisms that make them effective outside of the group in savings products in general?
Editor's Note:
If you were hoping that the faiV would be a pleasant distraction from the overwhelming flow of AI-related content, sorry. For the record, the faiV had “ai” built in before Anthropic existed. And a housekeeping note: we’ve finally jumped ship from Mailchimp to NYU’s mailing platform—I guess if you’re reading this it’s been a seamless transition and if you’re not, well, you’re not. Feedback on the faiV’s content and format and delivery methods is always welcome, just drop me an email.
- Tim Ogden