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The Future of Digital Credit: A Recent Report Explores How to Make its Second Decade More Impactful Than its First
The first online lending platforms began emerging roughly two decades ago, and since then, the global digital credit market has grown to reach many formerly excluded customers. But according to Dan Cassara, previously at CEGA, this growth has raised concerns about over-indebtedness, exploitation and scams. As the market looks toward the coming decades, he shares a recent report that investigates digital credit — particularly Mobile Instant Credit and airtime loans — and explores approaches that can better protect consumers and support their financial health.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Inclusion Requires Interoperability: Why All Digital Financial Services Should be Interoperable
As of 2021, there were 1.4 billion financially excluded people globally — over 1 billion fewer than there were in 2011. As Briana Marbury at the Interledger Foundation explains, mobile money and other digital financial products and services have helped to drive this progress, reaching populations that have traditionally been excluded. But she argues that this momentum has highlighted an emerging issue that could limit the impact of the growth in financial inclusion: the lack of interoperability between digital systems.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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Comparing Business Models for Scaling Access to Productive Use of Energy Appliances in Agriculture: The Advantages of Pay-Per-Use
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) appliances — including solar refrigerators, water pumps and more — can boost productivity, income and quality of life in vulnerable communities. But as Ankur Singh, Argha Ghose and Clementine Chambon at Oorja explain, challenges like high upfront costs, lack of financing and poor after-sales service hinder their adoption among these consumers. They explore several business and end-user financing models that can support PUE uptake in agriculture, and explain why the pay-per-use model is uniquely suitable for low-income consumers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Technology
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Taking Stock of India’s Fintech Landscape: A Venture Capital Firm Shares Six Insights from One of the World’s Most Vibrant Investment Markets
The global team at Quona Capital — a venture capital firm focused on inclusive fintech — recently concluded a visit to India, during which they immersed themselves in the local fintech ecosystem. Michel Zaidler at Quona shares six insights they gathered from several of their Indian portfolio companies, and from these companies' customers and other fintech thought leaders. He highlights some of the groundbreaking business models these fintechs are using, and explains why the Indian market offers unique opportunities to investors.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Investing, Technology
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Under-Leveraged Best Practices for Scaling Productive Use of Energy Appliances: Part 1 — Sales Support and Market Access
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) appliances can increase revenue for low-income populations, mitigate climate change and improve global energy access. But according to Thomas Charoy and Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath at Hystra, uptake of PUE appliances remains slow, due in part to the training, market linkages and after-sales support needed for customers to get the full benefit from these complex products. They explore some common challenges and best practices in selling PUE solutions, focusing on the appliances with the most mature and promising markets: solar water pumps and solar refrigerators.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Technology
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AI in African Healthcare: The Good, the Bad and the RECKLESS
Artificial intelligence (AI) can have a major positive impact on the cost and quality of healthcare in emerging economies. But as AI gains traction in Africa's healthcare market, Mark Wien at PocketPatientMD calls out an alarming trend: New AI solutions are being introduced into actual practice without the proper safeguards, standards and scrutiny. And even worse, these solutions are often being developed by non-medical professionals and technologists, who rush to roll out new tools without caution — and without acknowledging or perhaps even understanding the risks they pose to vulnerable patients and health systems. He urges Africa's healthcare industry — including doctors themselves — to address this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Reshaping Africa’s Food Systems: Three Opportunities to Drive Sustainable, Inclusive and Scalable Impact
Africa's agricultural sector is plagued by low yields, fragmented value chains and a large finance gap, and the region is home to 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. As Neil Wood, Oscar Garza and Hanna Dohrenbusch at Open Capital explain, these challenges have brought the sector to a critical juncture. They share three key solutions based on Open Capital's work on 450+ agriculture and food systems projects across Africa, which have the power to help drive the future of agriculture on the continent in the decades to come.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Investing, Technology
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Accelerating Africa’s E-Commerce Revolution: A SaaS Solution Leverages Payment and Logistics Innovation to Unleash the Continent’s Entrepreneurial Potential
Africa’s e-commerce landscape is in the midst of an ongoing revolution, as the growth in internet access has enabled businesses across the continent to sell their products locally, regionally and globally. Moulaye Taboure at ANKA explains how his company is leveraging “Software as a Service” (SaaS) innovation to connect these businesses with consumers, while providing payments and logistics services geared toward their unique needs. He shares highlights from a recent ANKA whitepaper that outlines key trends and developments in African e-commerce.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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