Articles by Lee Babcock
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Thursday
October 13
2016Digital Technology is Key to Solving ‘Wicked Problems’ in Agriculture
There's a great need for partnerships between the private sector and government – as well as broader, cross-sectoral partnerships inclusive of civil society, NGOs, farmer organizations, research institutes and academia – in order to collaboratively solve "wicked" problems with information and communication technologies for agriculture.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Friday
October 2
2015Target Market Segmentation and Education: Comparing agriculture digital payments systems
Agriculture has such a complicated supply chain that any digital payments programs without the requisite target market segmentation and a robust education approach – that places farmers at the center of consideration – will likely fail. It is essential for farmers to have a comprehensive awareness about the features and benefits of digital payments before they will consider adopting any new way of doing their business.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Thursday
July 9
2015Why a Common Platform is Within Reach: Mobile finance and the emergence of a comprehensive ICT4D mHub platform?
Currently there are numerous applications but they are not synced with each other. What is truly needed (and possible) is a comprehensive mHub type of platform that is multi-sectoral (e.g. agriculture, health, education, etc.) and multi-functional.
- Categories
- Technology
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Thursday
January 22
20152015 – The Breakout Year for Agriculture Digital Payments?
For digital finance to really expand throughout the developing world this year, it needs greater uptake among the rural poor, says Lee Babcock. To achieve that, the sector must think about how best to strategically insert digital finance into the agriculture value chain. He explores a number of ongoing initiatives that are focused on doing just that.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Wednesday
August 20
2014Three Steps to Jumpstart Agriculture Mobile Payments: Step 3 – Overcoming farmers’ illiteracy, financial illiteracy and lack of trust
In the third and final post in his series on embedding mobile payments by large buyers to farmers into agricultural value chains, Lee Babcock considers the need to overcome farmers’ illiteracy, financial illiteracy and, perhaps most importantly, lack of trust.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Wednesday
August 13
2014Three Steps to Jumpstart Agriculture Mobile Payments: Step 2 – forming strategic alliances
In the second of a three-part series laying out three steps for embedding mobile money into agriculture development at the BoP, Lee Babcock explores the importance of strategically aligning large commodity buyers with mobile financial services providers and other supporting entities that work with smallholder farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Wednesday
August 6
2014Three Steps to Jumpstart Mobile Finance: Step 1 – Researching smallholders’ financial behavior to help them transition to mobile payments
It’s becoming increasingly clear that cash payment schemes are obsolete in the 21st century, says Lee Babcock. And in agriculture, there’s a growing recognition that enabling digital payments to smallholders is a huge opportunity, both for farmers and the mobile finance sector. In this three-part series, Babcock lays out three steps for embedding mobile money into agriculture development at the BoP.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Tuesday
April 8
2014Planting the Seeds of Digital Finance: Part 2 of our Digital Finance Plus series discusses why agriculture is key to building the mobile money ecosystem
Agriculture-focused payment solutions could and should have a unique role in the growth of digital finance, says Lee Babcock. Their ability to facilitate income streams to low-income families provides a powerful incentive for their adoption, and they could help extend the ecosystem to rural customers. So why aren’t more mobile money platforms tapping this potential?
- Categories
- Agriculture
