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From Proxy IDs to Autonomous Payments: Why the Future of Financial Services is Hyper-Efficiency
Despite the rise of digital banking and other technological advancements, financial services are still plagued by significant inefficiencies. Author and serial entrepreneur Arunjay Katakam explores the causes and consequences of these inefficiencies — including their impact on lower-income customers — and discusses some emerging innovations that are addressing them. He explains why the sector's growing efforts to streamline back-end processes, reduce transaction costs and enhance operational efficiency will be pivotal in shaping the future of financial services.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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MTN Aims to Double its Mobile Money Lending in Uganda to Shs1 Trillion This Year
MTN says it will this year double mobile money lending from Shs550b to more than Shs1 trillion.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Leveraging Market Systems Development for Women’s Economic Empowerment: Four Tools for Designing Programs That Promote a Gender-Inclusive Economy
Market Systems Development (MSD) interventions are a promising way to boost women's economic independence in emerging markets. But as Sarah Bove, Teresa Oliveira and Julieta Ocampo at TechnoServe explain, since most MSD programs haven’t specifically targeted women, there's little evidence on how this approach can address their exclusion from key sectors. They offer insights from TechnoServe's Women in Business MSD initiative in Mozambique, sharing a set of tools that can be used by other MSD programs to maximize women’s economic empowerment.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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Press Release: Visa and the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation Launch Digital Finance for All Initiative
This five-year initiative aims to advance digital financial inclusion for 20 million individuals, including women, small holder farmers (SHF), and nano, micro and small enterprise (NMSE) owners across low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
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- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: Bold Raises $50 Million in Series C Funding Round Led by General Atlantic and IFC
Bold was founded in 2019 to serve small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a mission of fostering financial inclusion through the democratization of Colombia's digital economy.
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- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity in Africa: How AI Can Help Ensure the Continent’s Digital Safety
Cyberattacks are increasing globally, and Africa experiences the highest volume in the world. According to Lanre Ogungbe at Prembly, this has resulted in significant repercussions for businesses and entire economies. He explores how cybercriminals target Africa’s unique vulnerabilities, and how artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the scale and scope of both cybercrime and the cybersecurity efforts that aim to address it on the continent.
- Categories
- Technology
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Press Release: As Digital Credit Surges, New Research Shows Need for Greater Consumer Protection
A report from leading anti-poverty research organizations provides new insights into the relationship between the digitization of credit and economic development in an era of overlapping crises.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Securitization for Social Impact: Why It’s the Ideal Instrument for Scaling Social Enterprises Providing Consumer Financing in the Developing World
Economic uncertainty has led to a risk-averse approach from investors in recent years, forcing social enterprises and other businesses in developing countries to find alternative sources of finance. Ron Pfende at d.light shares an innovative solution to this challenge: securitization, the process of transforming a group of cash-generating assets into one investable security. He explains how d.light has leveraged this approach to finance its growth, and how securitization yields returns for businesses and investors alike.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise