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Digital Platforms for ‘Gig Economy’ Workers: An Intriguing Model Gains Traction in Africa
The government of Senegal has been working diligently to foster high-tech innovation in its economy – but there's one area in particular need of a digital upgrade. Researchers Jessica Wallach and Jill Lagos Shemin explore why the greatest potential impact of the digital revolution in Senegal may involve helping informal workers in the "gig economy" leverage digital platforms to find work.
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- Technology
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Nobody Reads Privacy Policies: Why We Need to Go Beyond Consent to Ensure Data Privacy
We all “say” we read the privacy policies when we agree to the terms and conditions on websites and apps - but up to 97% of people don't actually read them. And even if we read them, few of us can understand the legalese. Now that the age of Big Data has reached emerging markets, and digital tech makes obtaining and monetizing user data easier than ever before, this lack of data privacy is a growing concern. David Medine and Gayatri Murthy at CGAP explore the problem – and some innovative tools that can help protect the world’s newest and most vulnerable digital consumers.
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- Finance, Technology
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Do Surveys Fall Short? Solving the Challenge of Predicting Mini-Grid Energy Usage in Africa
Half of Africa’s population is living without electricity, and mini-grids could connect at least 100 million of these 600 million people. But mini-grid developers struggle to profitably serve these potential customers, due in part to the difficulty of accurately forecasting their electricity demand. Analysts at CrossBoundary explore why this process is so complex and prone to inaccuracy, why surveying customers is often ineffective – and what can be done about it.
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- Energy, Technology
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- data, energy access, off-grid energy, research
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The Tech Revolution in Financial Inclusion is Excluding Last-Mile Customers: Here are Four Ways to Reach Them
The world is experiencing a surge in internet access, with almost 300 million new users in 2019 – and this growth is happening especially in developing countries. But in many communities, this access is unreliable and unevenly distributed, say Rodrigo de Reyes and Mauricio Romero at Fundación Capital – and this has serious repercussions for digital and financial inclusion. They explore four key ways to deal with this challenge when serving last-mile customers.
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- Finance, Technology
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From Heritage to Habit: Why Digital Remittances Languish in Some Cultures But Surge in Others
Thirty years after their introduction, digital remittances have failed to take off. Some 90% of remittances still begin as cash and end as cash - even when banks are the intermediary. Lack of trust, access and interoperability - to name just a few challenges - are keeping lower-income people tied to costlier cash transfers. However, remittance providers and related fintech entities are exploring many new avenues to encourage recipients to keep remittances in the digital ecosystem and possibly use them for other financial products, writes Steven Davidson with Mondato.
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- Finance, Technology
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How Can We Stop Losing Our Minds?: Producing a Legacy From Development Projects, Not Just a Document
Have you ever run, funded or been part of a development project? Have you ever thought: “We should definitely share what we learned?” But then someone wrote a report and that was the end of that. Gavin Starks, the founder of dgen.net, argues that shouldn’t be the end, but the beginning. The power of an open approach to development has many benefits, he says. Done well, it changes the way people collaborate during projects — and helps them produce a legacy, not just a document.
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- Finance, Technology
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New Solutions to an Old Problem: How the Internet of Things, Water Kiosks and Sensor Data are Improving Access to WASH in Kenya
When well water systems break down due to a lack of monitoring or maintenance, people can go days or even weeks without access to water for themselves and their livestock. The Kenya RAPID program seeks to solve this problem by applying innovative technology and data to improve water management and distribution. Paul Wiedmaier at Catholic Relief Services explores how the program is already making a significant impact on water access in Kenya.
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- Technology, Telecommunications, WASH
- Tags
- data, innovation, Internet of Things, water
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How Do Consumers React to Psychometric-Based Credit Scoring?
Nearly 50 million Americans and literally billions more around the world have limited access to affordable credit – primarily due to a lack of credit histories. What's worse, many of these underbanked individuals are actually in decent financial standing – they simply do not have sufficiently mature credit scores. Psychometric (ie: personality-based) credit scores can address this issue – but how do customers feel about it? Saul Fine at Innovative Assessments shares results from recent surveys that aim to answer that question.
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- Finance, Technology