Launching financial inclusion in Sierra Leone, and other news (24 Jul 2018)

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

• The Data Management and Analytics Capabilities (DMAC) programme has been launched in Sierra Leone by Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa). The programme uses data to inform evidence-based financial inclusion. Read more in Awoko, or read about OPM’s involvement in the project.

• The five-year Developing Effective Private Education Nigeria (DEEPEN) programme has recently concluded, and stakeholders have called for replication across the country after successful implementation in Lagos. Read more in the Guardian (Nigeria), or find out more about our work on this programme.

• Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh will receive training and mentoring under the International trade Centre’s SheTrades programme, which has now launched a chapter in the country. Read more in The Daily Observer (Bangladesh).

• India’s first national disability consultation on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act has revealed that only a third of the 29 states have notified rules under the act since April 2017. Read more in India.com.

• Women have traditionally had relatively few opportunities to participate in the economy in Pakistan. The Karandaaz Women Entrepreneurship Challenge (funded by DFID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) supports women-led businesses to offer these opportunities. Read more in the Pakistan Observer.

• DFID have called for Nigeria to tackle some of the challenges on their electoral process before the 2019 elections. Read more in The Nation (Nigeria).

• At a roundtable with Bangladesh’s Department of Disaster Management, Shifting the Power, and Christian Aid’s Dhaka Earthquake and Emergency Preparedness Programme, ways to prepare the country for facing disasters were discussed. Read more in The Daily Star (Bangladesh).