What Kenya can teach its neighbors — and the US — about improving the lives of the “unbanked”

A dollar sign forms one of the columns of a stately building

From Kelsey Piper / Vox: Mobile banking in Kenya has increased economic mobility for families living in poverty. The mobile money system is not connected to bank accounts, making it accessible to the overwhelming majority of Kenyans who don’t have bank accounts but do have cell phones. Mobile banking allows deposits and withdrawals as well as transfers, and has allowed families to save money to use when their income, often from farming, takes a hit thus creating a security net for themselves and allowing them to receive funds from friends and family. Savings allow families to meet basic needs and access medical care if necessary.

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From Prachi Bari / The Hindustan Times: The city of Pune has a program called Lighthouse that provides services to underprivileged youths skill building for career pursuits. Read the original story here. Read more articles about youth-focused wellbeing initiatives.

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From Dimitri Selibas / ENSIA: Guatemala’s reforestation programs pay farmers to keep their lands forested instead of clearing them for farming. The annual $380 payment each participant receives for 5 to 10 years comes from the general taxes collected by...

From Martín Xavi Macías / NextCity: Chicago is asking its citizens, including youth, to help determine how to spend public money. Participatory budgeting involves communities identifying their greatest needs and guiding spending toward solutions. Read the original story here. Read...

From Asad Asnawi / Context: The Nusantra Fund provides financial support directly to community-led projects in Indonesia. The aim is to improve the livelihoods of Indigenous and local people while tackling climate change impacts and protecting biodiversity. Click here to...

From Patrick Greenfield / The Guardian: Curridabat, a city in Costa Rica has extended citizenship to the flora and fauna of the city (most notably pollinators) in order to enhance efforts to create more green spaces and healthier local ecosystems....

From Gulf Today: Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, is among the first corporations in the region to open sustainable corporate bank accounts, which ensure cash balances are used to finance or...

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