Uzbekistan is setting strong economic precedents for the European and Central Asian region. New supportive legislative policies have increased government spending on education and training programs. Global economists argue this is one of the main reasons Uzbekistan’s GDP has increased by more than eight percent the past three years.
Recent economic success is also attributed to growing economic freedom allowed by a currently changing Soviet-style economy. Uzbekistan has the most diversified economy in Central Asia. This provides an increase in GDP per capita, which has been increasing steadily over the past three years as well. Improvements in GDP per capita are strong indicators of improvement in personal living standards.
At present, the service sector accounts for about 45 percent of GDP. Examples of common Uzbekistan services include car repairs, the medical industry, teaching and the food industry. Not far behind services lies industry and agriculture. Uzbekistan is the world’s fifth-leading cotton exporter and seventh-leading producer.
Economic projections for the private sector show a steady increase over the next few years. Fiscal space in the government budget allows the economy to increase stimulus without increasing public debt. This leaves the public to continue growing in wealth while working simultaneously to steadily boost GDP.
The Banking System
Credit access in Uzbekistan is likely to increase due to recent banking growth. More money circulating through the Uzbekistan economy raises banking lending power. In the past, Uzbekistan banking systems limited access to foreign investments due to governmental regulations. Almost all money contributed had come from the domestic system.
Exclusive banking provided benefits such as domestic accountability. An increase in Uzbekistan credit access relied on loans by the population. Other past pros to this system included resilience to global financial crises. Banks proved most effective in 2014 when domestic capital injections provided immunity from failing global counterparts.
This, however, has changed in 2018. Total banking capital increased 26 percent in 2014, and this year banking directors met to discuss boosting central bank interdependence with foreign allies to target foreseen inflation rates.
Banking directors continue to emphasize the importance of regulation to create and maintain a newly inclusive baking system. The new system would include an interactive global policy regarding foreign loans and cooperation.
Personal Credit Access in Uzbekistan
Smaller banking also influences credit access in Uzbekistan. A closer look reveals smaller economic changes, some of which include assistance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC is a member of the World Bank and works to improve business in the private sectors of developing countries.
Private sector investments from the IFC have improved credit access in Uzbekistan in several ways. For example, the financial Markets Infrastructure Program (2009 to present) aims to create and improve credit information sharing. Members of the public can now receive an accurate prediction of loan repayment possibilities.
The current program also educates possible loan participants on formal risk factors associated with taking a loan. The certification for financial institution employees is the most prevalent in this project, as it allows job creation while creating a more knowledgeable private sector.
The Mortgage Market Development Project also instituted public credit access in Uzbekistan by improving mortgage lending procedures in local banks, made possible through set lending practices. Both programs continue today, allowing the general public higher access to jobs, loans and savings options.
Strong Projections
Expansion into the global economic sphere is a huge step for Uzbekistan, as previous years of Soviet-style economics would not have allowed this type of growth. Compared to its European-Asian counterparts, the Uzbekistan economy is at the forefront of balance and diversity.
The shift from exclusive banking to possibly inclusive is a prime example of the forward economic thinking propelling the country forward. Further improvements to liberalize the Uzbekistan economy, establish rule of law, social safety, constructive foreign policy and personal banking are also paving the way for success in the coming years.
– Logan Moore
Photo: Flickr
5 Areas in Which Developing Countries Lead the World
Upon initial inspection, developing countries face many obvious challenges, some of which obscure the progress being made. The realities of poverty can sometimes force this progress; after all, from the bottom, there’s only one way to go: up. Developing countries lead the world now in ways unforeseen perhaps a decade ago, and in some ways have even distinguished themselves on the global stage. Five areas serve to highlight where these countries are outperforming the developed world.
5 Areas in Which Developing Countries Lead the World
On the rocky fringes of a global landscape, developing countries lead the world down some of the most implausible of paths. One such pathway grows greener than others. According to World Bank, an international financial institution that finances capital projects in countries throughout the world, Mexico, China, India and Brazil are among the leaders in sustainable energy policies.In Scoring 111 countries on policies that support energy access, World Bank analytics called Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) took into account each country’s energy access, efficiency, and policies. Vietnam, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania also received praise for their efforts.Perhaps one reason for this trend could be the falling costs of solar energy, allowing for developing countries to reach their most isolated residents. Whatever the reason, developing economies invested in renewable energy to the tune of $177 billion in 2017. That’s a 20 percent leap in one year.
In places like Nigeria, electronic voter identification takes precedence over traditional work, while elsewhere, in developed countries like the U.K., the digital jump still hasn’t been made.While the electronic “fixing” of an election may be possible, the likelihood of it working in a persuasive manner depends largely on the closeness of an election. And while elections in places like Kenya meet opposition and challenge, Africa still finds itself ahead in the popular vote, so to speak, when it comes to digital voting technology.
Developing countries lead the way in the implementation and use of mobile money technologies as well. Remarkably, Kenya has hit the decade mark with its M-Pesa mobile money service, but it is not alone in this growing trend among developing nations.In a 2017 report by Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA), an organization that represents the interests of mobile operators the world over, 277 million registered mobile money accounts dotted sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2016. These services generated $110 billion of economic value and helped to support more than three million jobs.
Commercial transactions conducted electronically online, referred to as e-commerce, might often be associated with advanced economies. However, developing countries also lead the way in this area, in nations like Columbia, Argentina and Nigeria.In fact, in Latin America alone, e-commerce is expected to see growth of nearly 20 percent over the next five years. What does this mean for a developing economy? It means growth opportunities and greater integration within the world’s markets.In terms of countries opening themselves up to trade, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines take center stage. According to the World Economic Forum, an organization that engages world leaders to shape agendas, these countries have now displaced the traditional powerhouses.
A recent poll by Gallup International, a leader in economic and market research, shows that the external powers of money may not necessarily translate to intrinsic happiness. The poll found that optimism came from places like Nigeria, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines.When asked questions about prospects for the future or personal happiness, confidence abounded in places like Mexico, despite grim financial outlooks for the country. Maybe money can’t buy happiness.
Despite lingering stereotypes and growing pessimism in our world, developing countries lead the world in several different areas, and while the change in perception may be gradual, reality dictates a much quicker realization: developing countries make strides every day, and in some cases, set the standard.
– Daniel Staesser
Photo: Flickr
Girls’ Education in Mexico
Girls’ education in Mexico is a complex issue. Despite a 98.5 percent literacy rate among girls 15 to 24, many female students in Mexico tend to leave school early. Research suggests that primary school education becomes useless because most women are forced to drop out of school in order to be present for various household duties. Founding president of the Mexican Federation of University Women, Patricia Galeana, says that “girls do not miss school for lack of intellect, but because there is social deprivation.”
There are various reasons for the decline of girls’ education in Mexico. Worldwide, Mexico has the eighth-highest number of child marriages. Gender inequality is a big concern and violence against women is also a common challenge in the country, which hinders girls’ education in almost every respect. At the same time, the roles of women vary from one region to another. The Zapotec community of Juchitan, for example, is a matriarchal society where women play more leading roles than males.
Latin America is the only region with an increase of marriages every year. About 83 percent of married girls do not attend school and the number rises to 92 percent if informal unions are counted. Mexico City-based research claims that 25,000 girls between 12 to 14 are in an early marriage union.
Research also says indigenous girls face more hindrance than other girls in Mexico. Primary schools are free and mandatory in the country and taught mostly in Spanish. With more than 68 linguistic groups, there comes an uneven learning process in classrooms. The opportunity to attend primary schools is nearly equal for both females (49 percent) and males (51 percent), but due to socio-economic problems, women are forced to work and support their family.
Mexico has been making slow progress over the past few years. The country is focusing on making progress toward internet access through a dual work effort from Women’s Rights Online Network and a nonprofit called Derechos Digitales. The duo has launched a Digital Gender Gap scorecard, which will focus on improving public internet infrastructure, especially in poor and rural areas, and also make an effort to stop gender inequality.
The director of gender equality in the Ministry of Public Education, Claudia Alonso, points out that the stereotypical choice of degrees by women needs to be challenged. Women are mostly seen taking up subjects related to nursing, preschool education, and accounting. More emphasis needs to be put on STEM career choices for women.
Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education has joined with the Mexican Academy of Science and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development to focus on promoting STEM girls’ education in Mexico. The University of Texas at San Antonio is working with Mexican Universities to teach various concepts of STEM. The U.S. Mexico foundation has also taken up a program called Mujeres en STEM to encourage more women.
In general, girls’ education in Mexico is improving slowly. The Washington Post claims that in 2012, Mexico produced 130,000 more engineers and technicians than countries like Canada, Germany and Brazil, which have larger populations. Women are enrolling in universities more, even with gender equality being deficient. Women are also seeking paid employment and about 20 percent of Senators have been female since 2006, which suggests that the influence of women in politics is increasing.
– Shweta Roy
Photo: Flickr
A Brief Look at Tree Aid
Tree Aid is a little-known international charity based in the United States and the United Kingdom. The organization was founded in 1978 by a group of concerned foresters in reaction to widespread famine in Africa. The original goal of Tree Aid was to provide small-scale support that would be sustainable to their local areas of work.
Tree Aid has not looked back. It estimates that it plants one tree every thirty seconds and has planted more than 15 million trees. The organization currently operates in five countries: Ethiopia, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana. These are a few countries which Tree Aid considers in the “Drylands” of Africa. These areas are under constant bombardment of the desert sands of the Sahara. Around the world, this issue affects 3.2 billion people. In Africa, the desert slowly whittles away at the grasslands. As this happens, the soil loses its nutrients and becomes desert. The process is called desertification.
That is why Tree Aid focuses on planting trees. As a tree’s root system grows, it holds more and more topsoil in place. Trees also help to replace nutrients that soil can lose due to desertification, poor farming methods or natural disasters.
Trees also provide food, which feeds the local populace and acts as a source of income. In a pinch, trees can also be used to make tools, shelter, fire and some medicinal products. Between 2016 and 2017, the charity planted more than one million trees, which helped to lift 400,000 people out of poverty and regenerate 55,000 hectares of land.
Tree Aid does not plan to stop. Its five-year plan (2017-2022) states that the organization wants to plant eight million trees, help to lift 2.5 million people out of poverty, restore 250,000 hectares of land and promote people’s rights to trees. The organization is not going at this alone. RPS, a multinational energy, and resource management company has been working alongside Tree Aid for more than a decade.
In 2016, Tree Aid and RPS were awarded a joint business charity award for their work together. RPS provides more than just money to the organization; it also provides professional and technical expertise such as GIS modeling so that the trees planted by organization can be their most effective.
RPS has pledged more than $500,000 to a Tree Aid project in Ethiopia between 2017 and 2020. The project aims are to educate people and protect ecosystems along the Meki River. RPS also provides funding for other projects.
In 2016-2017 Tree Aid claimed raised $1.6 million through corporate donations, government organizations and private sponsors. However, its total expenditure was $3.6 million. Unfortunately, the organization saw a 41 percent decrease in donations across the board and an increase in the cost of its efforts. This trend is likely to continue but the group does not seem deterred. Hopefully, despite a rising cost of business, this organization will stay rooted and continue to fight the good fight.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
SunSalutor: Providing Energy and Water to Impoverished Countries
Worldwide, there are about 1.5 billion people without electricity and about 750 million people who do not have access to clean water. These are life’s basic necessities and people are unfortunately lacking in these resources. Thankfully, there is a new piece of technology called the SunSalutor that is providing energy and water to impoverished countries.
Solar panels are a popular solution when discussing how to bring energy to those in poverty. Solar panels have been successful but they are not as energy efficient as many would like them to be. Eden Full Goh, the founder and creator of SunSalutor, has made it possible for solar panels to track the sun which allows for more energy to be collected.
How the SunSalutor Works
A single axis tracker with a water weight at the east end and a counterweight on the west end allows for a solar panel to track the sun. The tracking is powered by gravity and water. The water weight drips water throughout the day, making itself lighter.
As the water weight becomes lighter, the solar panel begins to shift thanks to the counterweight. With the appropriate adjustment on how quickly the water weight drips water, the solar panel will track the sun throughout the day and collect more energy than it would if it was standing still.
But that is not all the SunSalutor does. The dripping water can also be filtered to create clean drinking water. So, not only is the SunSalutor providing energy to impoverished countries, it is also providing water.
Benefits of the SunSalutor
One of the great benefits that come with the SunSalutor is the low cost. At most, an entire SunSalutor costs around $10 to $15. The main frame is built from local materials such as bamboo or wood. Because of this, the SunSalutor can be maintained and fixed locally. The cost for a SunSalutor set is 30 times cheaper than traditional panels.
The SunSalutor also eliminates the need for kerosene gas generators. Buying kerosene gas can become expensive over time and generators can create a lot of noise. Furthermore, they produce CO2 emissions which can end up polluting the air. The SunSalutor eliminates all of these issues.
Providing Energy and Water to Impoverished Countries
According to the official SunSalutor website, in Mpala, Kenya, there was a village that did not have electricity. The inhabitants had to rely on kerosene gas to have electricity in their village. Villagers had to travel two hours round-trip to receive the necessary kerosene gas. They also had to do this to charge their cellphones. Thanks to the SunSalutor, these villagers can now stay within their village and produce electricity locally.
Providing energy and water to impoverished countries can have a lot of benefits. Thanks to the electricity gained, children can now study for longer and be prepared for school the next day. If these children do well in school, they can possibly break the cycle of poverty that they have been in. The SunSalutor is not only providing energy and water to impoverished countries, it can also provide people a way out of poverty.
– Daniel Borjas
Photo: Flickr
What is the Development Assistance Committee?
The Development Assistance Committee is an arm of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Founded in 1961 by the OECD to better organize and execute its agenda, the Development Assistance Committee also has the duty of innovating and monitoring future and ongoing development projects.
These projects target sustainable economic growth in countries who seek the committee’s aid. It also monitors how members of the committee and the OECD use development aid. The Development Assistance Committee is made up of 30 member nations, as opposed to the OECD’s 35 members.
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the UNDP are all observing members of the committee. The members, along with the observing members of the Development Assistance Committee form the world’s leading forum for bilateral economic development and cooperation. It is known for its neutrality.
Official Development Assistance is the or ODA is the term used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to define all assistance rendered by member nations that target sustainable economic development. Due to the fact that the Committee is dedicated to furthering bilateral relations between member nations and nations it deems in need of assistance, ODA is not the only form of aid.
Member nations foster development in areas that are important to their national agendas. For example, Canada, which is a member of the DAC, will focus its foreign aid towards girls’ and women’s rights over the next five years. Denmark, another member nation, will be spending much of its aid in combating the refugee crisis.
This is not the only difference between member nations. Because there is no legally binding agreement holding a nation to the amount of money it must spend each year, there is a wide range in the percentage of assistance money spent. The DAC uses a percentage of a nation’s gross national income.
In 2014, Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark all donated more than 0.07 percent of their GNI, a target set in 1974 by the DAC. Germany spent 0.04 percent of its GNI on foreign aid and South Korea spent just 0.01 percent.
The OECD agenda is mostly economic. They focus on economic stability within nations. Currently, it is focusing on re-establishing confidence in markets, promoting public financing as a strong driver of economic growth, developing green strategies for economic growth and ensuring job growth and security for people of all ages.
In 2016, saw the appointment of a new chair of the DAC, Petri Gornitzka, who was the former head of the Swedish Foreign Aid Agency. Gornitzka is pushing for reform within the DAC and she hopes to bring smaller member nations into the fold when making decisions about future projects and funding. She also plans to make the private sector a more viable partner.
In the 2016 DAC Global Plan, the DAC also states that it wants to survey nations who receive aid linked to the DAC on what can be improved. The DAC also plans to bring the smaller donors into the fold by helping them improve the effectiveness of their aid. This is also one of the incentives that the DAC boast to countries who wish to become members.
The last members who joined the committee were Iceland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Poland and Slovenia in 2013 and Hungary in 2016. The European Union has made it a goal of all member nations to work towards joining the DAC.
Although the DAC does not do much direct work, its work behind the scenes promoting cooperation greatly benefits the world. The continued growth of the organization will also benefit the world.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
Five Human Trafficking Relief Organizations Everyone Should Know
Around the world, there is an ongoing epidemic that is often hidden in plain sight: human trafficking. According to the United Nations, there are over 27 million slaves in the world today and this number threatens to increase as the demand for certain goods and industries increases.
Although this is a crisis is facing many people, there are several organizations that have stepped in to bring attention and relief to this global epidemic. The following are five human trafficking relief organizations that everyone should be aware of.
Five Important Human Trafficking Relief Organizations
Rescue: The next portion of A21’s mission focuses on collaborating with law enforcement and the government to help prosecute captured human traffickers. Representatives also help with the legal process by defending victims in court.
Restore: The last method in its solution focuses on providing victims the opportunity to re-integrate themselves into society, by providing them with prime accommodations for recovery that include housing, medical treatment, top-class educational resources, counseling, employment and enterprise opportunities.
These five human trafficking relief organizations are just a small number compared to the larger amount of efforts established to help eradicate the statistics of human trafficking worldwide. Although great efforts have been made to address human trafficking, the world still awaits a day when slavery will be abolished for good, but it is up to those who are aware of the dire situation to make this happen.
– Lois Charm
Photo: Google
Assessing the Impact of the Magnitsky Act on the Russian Economy
Much has been written about the Magnitsky Act, especially considering that it is a longstanding source of resentment among prominent Russians. However, remarkably little research has been done about the impact of the Magnitsky Act on the Russian economy.
What the Magnitsky Act Does
In 2014, the United States passed the Magnitsky Act, which was an effort to punish Russia for alleged human rights violations surrounding the death of a whistleblower who tried to alert the public to the alleged corruption that had been taking place in Russia for the previous several years. The intent was to sanction the individuals responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, without impacting the majority of Russian citizens who had nothing to do with it.
The Magnitsky Act is notable because it attempts to punish solely the Russians responsible for Magnitsky’s death, rather than Russia as a whole. Rather than blanket import/export bans, the Magnitsky Act freezes the assets of the Russians implicated in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, the victim for whom the legislation is named. Additionally, it bans these individuals from obtaining visas to enter the United States.
The Magnitsky Act has been followed by the Global Magnitsky Act, which applies these punishments to any citizen of any country who is suspected of aiding the activity of the Russians in question. Additionally, other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, have passed their own versions of this legislation.
Impact of the Magnitsky Act on the Russian Economy
Although the intent of the Magnitsky Act was to have minimal impact on the Russian economy or the lives of average Russian citizens, it is fair to assume that there has been some effect. Russia retaliated in 2014 by banning all food imports from Europe and the United States for a period of one year. This is in addition to banning all adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, which has become a major point of contention in recent years.
After the passage of the original legislation, its authors stressed that the impact of the Magnitsky Act on the Russian economy was meant to be positive. The reasoning was that the Magnitsky Act would discourage the corruption and theft that supposedly limit Russia’s economic growth prospects. However, there is little evidence to prove that this has been uniformly the case.
Moving Forward with the Magnitsky Act
As an upper-middle income country, Russia’s standard of living and other metrics of assessing the average Russian’s state of economic affairs continue to lag behind the advanced industrial economies of the world. However, it is not possible to decisively say how much of this is due to the corruption that the Magnitsky Act and its supporters allege. More research should be done into the impact of the Magnitsky Act on the Russian economy, as it is difficult to say whether the authors of this legislation were right to craft it the way they did.
Because of this lack of decisive data, it is difficult to evaluate the impact of the Magnitsky Act on the Russian economy. There is no question that the Act plays an important normative role in signaling that the United States will exact consequences on violators of human rights, but whether it has the positive economic effects that its authors claimed it would is still not possible to assess. It seems likely that targeted sanctions like these could be a valuable tool to respond to potential human rights violations going forward, but they must be used with caution until a clear understanding of their broader impact is reached.
– Michaela Downey
Photo: Flickr
IGATE Program in Zimbabwe Is Transforming Girls’ Education
Since 2013, the Improving Girls’ Access through Transforming Education (IGATE) initiative in Zimbabwe has been aimed at identifying and reducing the barriers that limit and hinder girls’ educational access. The IGATE program in Zimbabwe is transforming girls’ education through empowerment.
Current Issues with Girls’ Education in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has the highest regional literacy rate with 96 percent. However, women make up 60 percent of the illiterate adult population and the school dropout rate remains particularly high among female students.
Through the sponsorship of the Girls Education Challenge Fund, the six-member organization and education initiative IGATE has a goal of reaching 90,000 women and girls. For these students, it aims to improve access to school while raising retention and performance rates.
How Exactly the IGATE Program Helps
SNV, a Dutch nonprofit focused on equipping communities with the knowledge to overcome poverty, is one of the six IGATE partners. It has been implementing the IGATE program in Zimbabwe with a specific focus on addressing the following barriers that interfere or hinder girls’ access to education:
Through educating the community and empowering women with the tools they need for success, the IGATE program in Zimbabwe has already seen large improvements in individual lives. For example, programs like the Power Within girls club have helped children feel more equipped for success. According to World Vision International, Basitsana, a member of the club, stated, “We have been taught about child rights, career guidance and also communication. I think as I continue with this project, I will grow up to be a more clever and confident person.”
Other models, such as the Village Savings and Lending Scheme, have helped parents pay for their children’s schools fees. Taki, a parent and beneficiary of the program, commented, “My life has significantly changed since starting activities with IGATE. I used to face difficulty in paying school fees…Now I can pay school fees for my children and also buy other necessities, especially for my daughter, such as sanitary pads.”
Continuing the Effects of IGATE
Not only has IGATE made differences in individual lives, it has also impacted the country as a whole. To date, IGATE has grown from its original eight districts to now 10 districts in Zimbabwe while also adding three new models of intervention focusing on barriers of distance, learning outcomes and male champion support.
In the first three years of operation, IGATE estimates that the number of people directly benefited was around 70,000. Specifically, 4,500 School Development Committee members, 12,000 mothers of girls who participate in a mothers’ group and 2,000 traditional religious leaders whose involvement will allow for culturally and religiously appropriate approaches have all benefitted.
Specific achievements of IGATE through the partnership of SNV include:
For the future, the IGATE program in Zimbabwe has ambitious goals to reach 50,000 school girls in 450 schools across three provinces and eight districts.
– Anne-Marie Maher
Photo: Flickr
Economic Growth Increases Credit Access In Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is setting strong economic precedents for the European and Central Asian region. New supportive legislative policies have increased government spending on education and training programs. Global economists argue this is one of the main reasons Uzbekistan’s GDP has increased by more than eight percent the past three years.
Recent economic success is also attributed to growing economic freedom allowed by a currently changing Soviet-style economy. Uzbekistan has the most diversified economy in Central Asia. This provides an increase in GDP per capita, which has been increasing steadily over the past three years as well. Improvements in GDP per capita are strong indicators of improvement in personal living standards.
At present, the service sector accounts for about 45 percent of GDP. Examples of common Uzbekistan services include car repairs, the medical industry, teaching and the food industry. Not far behind services lies industry and agriculture. Uzbekistan is the world’s fifth-leading cotton exporter and seventh-leading producer.
Economic projections for the private sector show a steady increase over the next few years. Fiscal space in the government budget allows the economy to increase stimulus without increasing public debt. This leaves the public to continue growing in wealth while working simultaneously to steadily boost GDP.
The Banking System
Credit access in Uzbekistan is likely to increase due to recent banking growth. More money circulating through the Uzbekistan economy raises banking lending power. In the past, Uzbekistan banking systems limited access to foreign investments due to governmental regulations. Almost all money contributed had come from the domestic system.
Exclusive banking provided benefits such as domestic accountability. An increase in Uzbekistan credit access relied on loans by the population. Other past pros to this system included resilience to global financial crises. Banks proved most effective in 2014 when domestic capital injections provided immunity from failing global counterparts.
This, however, has changed in 2018. Total banking capital increased 26 percent in 2014, and this year banking directors met to discuss boosting central bank interdependence with foreign allies to target foreseen inflation rates.
Banking directors continue to emphasize the importance of regulation to create and maintain a newly inclusive baking system. The new system would include an interactive global policy regarding foreign loans and cooperation.
Personal Credit Access in Uzbekistan
Smaller banking also influences credit access in Uzbekistan. A closer look reveals smaller economic changes, some of which include assistance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC is a member of the World Bank and works to improve business in the private sectors of developing countries.
Private sector investments from the IFC have improved credit access in Uzbekistan in several ways. For example, the financial Markets Infrastructure Program (2009 to present) aims to create and improve credit information sharing. Members of the public can now receive an accurate prediction of loan repayment possibilities.
The current program also educates possible loan participants on formal risk factors associated with taking a loan. The certification for financial institution employees is the most prevalent in this project, as it allows job creation while creating a more knowledgeable private sector.
The Mortgage Market Development Project also instituted public credit access in Uzbekistan by improving mortgage lending procedures in local banks, made possible through set lending practices. Both programs continue today, allowing the general public higher access to jobs, loans and savings options.
Strong Projections
Expansion into the global economic sphere is a huge step for Uzbekistan, as previous years of Soviet-style economics would not have allowed this type of growth. Compared to its European-Asian counterparts, the Uzbekistan economy is at the forefront of balance and diversity.
The shift from exclusive banking to possibly inclusive is a prime example of the forward economic thinking propelling the country forward. Further improvements to liberalize the Uzbekistan economy, establish rule of law, social safety, constructive foreign policy and personal banking are also paving the way for success in the coming years.
– Logan Moore
Photo: Flickr
31 Bits: A Woman-Owned Company That Is Combating Global Poverty
Currently, 80 percent of the world population lives on less than $10 a day. Needless to say, this is a time where the global poverty rate, although at the lowest it has ever been, is still in desperate need of improvement. The estimated unemployment rate as of 2017 was 7.9 percent, a 0.4 percent increase from 2016.
Fortunately, there are organizations and companies such as 31 Bits that are striving to combat the current unemployment dilemma that is actively contributing to global poverty. Starting its journey selling jewelry at local school events and craft fairs, nearly a decade later, 31 Bits is a thriving company composed of strong women whose success has been driven by their desire to help struggling and poor artisans in providing them with dignified job opportunities all throughout the world.
How 31 Bits Came to Be
The young women who started 31 Bits were college students by day while learning about marketing and international development at night. They had no background in business whatsoever; however, they did not allow this obstacle to hinder them. After returning from a life-changing trip to Uganda in college, International Director and Founder Kallie Dovel met many women, most who were single moms without jobs or an education that were the same age as herself.
Although they lacked an education, Kallie was instantly drawn to their exceptional skills and resourcefulness; they were making jewelry out of old posters. Bringing a box of jewelry back home, she was able to sell all that she had to her friends with ease.
Kallie was hit with the realization that with the skills that these women possessed, they needed a market – this is how 31 Bits has come to flourish. Producing products that are thoughtfully designed and ethically made, the mission statement of 31 Bits is, “We use fashion and design to drive positive change in the world by providing artisans with dignified opportunities and inspiring customers to live meaningful lives.”
How 31 Bits is Carrying Out its Mission
Actively defying cruel sweatshops where the worker is not paid fairly and is treated poorly, 31 Bits puts the treatment of its artisans at the forefront. The workshops contain quality materials and the necessary protective supplies, and the organization’s goal is to ensure that each artisan is able to make a sustainable monthly salary so that they are able to provide for their families.
31 Bits sells jewelry, bags, home décor, ceramics, textiles and more. Its brass jewelry is crafted by hand in Bali and its beads are also handmade in Uganda. Its website explains the religious reasoning behind the name 31 Bits, saying, “We called the company 31 Bits because Proverbs 31 describes a diligent woman providing and caring for her family using her gifts and talents. Oh, and the ‘bits’ comes from our original and bestselling jewelry that uses beads made out of ‘bits’ of paper!”
Combating Poverty and Assisting Artists
Because 31 Bits recognizes that there are many countries that suffer from corruption and a poor infrastructure which, as a result, limits many from access to the global market, it works to actively decrease the poverty rate for these countries while sustaining a family atmosphere and preserving tradition. “We’ve been able to take age-old practices and give them a modern twist,” the company explains. “Through 31 Bits, [artisans] now have a place to sell their meaningful work and tell stories of their heritage.”
Artisans who work with 31 Bits also receive health care and treatment, counseling, financial education and more. 31 Bits is not only combating the vast amount of global poverty that millions are attempting to grapple with, it is also promoting and encouraging these artisans to pursue their dreams.
– Angelina Gillispie
Photo: Flickr