Digital banking in Pakistan, and other news (12 Mar 19)

Every week we highlight some of the international development stories from across the globe that have caught our attention.

• Funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting non-profit organisation Karandaaz Pakistan to facilitate digital banking. It is hoped that Pakistan’s GDP will be increased by improving access to formal financing for 14 million currently unbanked people. Read more in Pakistan Today.

• Bangladesh is an innocent victim of climate change, and one of the worst affected countries, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said at the 2nd International Conference on Climate Finance. OPM's Katherine Cooke, who wrote a recent blog post about Bangladesh as the example to follow for climate financing, also spoke on the panel. Read more in Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.

• The Mental Health Authority in Ghana has launched a project to train health professionals and carers in improving the quality of services provided to people with psychosocial disabilities and mental health disorders. It’s estimated that 4.5 million people in Ghana live with mental health problems. Read more in PeaceFM (Ghana), or see our blog post on integrating mental healthcare in Ghana.

• A 70MW solar power project in Uttar Pradesh, India is being undertaken by SunSource Energy, an investee company of the Neev Fund – which is partially backed by DFID. Once completed, it will be one of the largest open access solar power sites in the region and will offset over 85,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. Read More in Business Today (India).

• ThinkZone, a start-up run by a former World Bank consultant, is providing low-cost education to children in Odisha, India by training local women as teachers remotely through the use of accessible technology. Read more in Your Story (India)