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The Ins and Outs of Launching a Digital Savings Product in Kenya: Regulatory Guidance for Fintech Startups
Kenya is among the most advanced markets in the world in terms of fintech innovation and digital financial services. But according to Abby Butkus at BFA Global's Catalyst Fund, this innovation has yet to extend to digital savings, where the uncertain regulatory environment requires startups to be creative in their approach. She discusses four ways startups are approaching the regulatory process for their digital savings products, and shares a set of guides Catalyst Fund has released to aid founders in navigating the regulatory environments in Kenya and other countries.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Microfinance for Better Housing: How the Sector Can Serve Low-Income Borrowers in India and Other Emerging Markets
In most emerging countries, populations are growing and the numbers moving into cities are rising even faster. Providing housing for these often low-income individuals has become a huge global challenge. But as development sector researcher Moin Qazi points out, these borrowers' lack of credit history, collateral and property rights makes it difficult for both traditional commercial lenders and microfinance providers to serve them. He explores the challenges facing housing microfinance in India and other emerging markets, and highlights some solutions.
- Categories
- Finance
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The Digital Revolution in Healthcare: How COVID-19 Has Accelerated Efforts to Close the Health Data Gap in Emerging Markets
In many emerging markets, there is a lack of accountable, accurate, real-time health information. With most medical information stored either on paper or on unconnected, often incompatible digital platforms, health statistics are largely disjointed, incomplete and inaccurate – a data gap that impacts every stakeholder in the healthcare ecosystem. However, according to Mark Wien at PocketPatientMD, this situation is changing. He explores how COVID-19 has accelerated the transition to digital data solutions, and highlights some key challenges to these efforts.
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- Coronavirus, Health Care
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The Systemic Reasons Behind the SGB Investment Gap: Why Investors Need Systems Data in Emerging Markets
Despite over-performing returns, venture capital investment in emerging markets accounts for only about 10% of total VC capital invested, and a significant financing gap remains for small and growing businesses (SGBs) in these environments. Jason Eaves at Discovered Markets presents several multifaceted reasons for this gap, and presents an unexploited solution: using systems data to overcome the biases and lack of market visibility that limit both investors' and other organizations' ability to effectively support SGBs in these markets.
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- Investing, Technology
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Solutions to the Care Crisis: How Social Enterprises and Impact Investing Can Transform the Care Economy
The care economy – i.e., paid and unpaid care provided to children, the elderly, and those with illnesses or disabilities – is central to our society’s well-being and to the broader economy. But according to analysts at IDRC, E. T. Jackson and Associates Ltd., and the Soros Economic Development Fund, COVID-19 has worsened the challenges facing these primarily female workers. They explore some innovative market-based solutions to these issues, and discuss how impact investors and other stakeholders can better support care workers, particularly in the Global South.
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- Investing, Social Enterprise, Transportation
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The Next Financial Inclusion Revolution: The Transformative Potential of Scaling Small Group Savings in the World’s Poorest Communities
Despite $52 billion invested in financial inclusion in 2019 alone, nearly 2 billion people – many of them among the world’s poorest – still lack access to formal finance. As Jeffrey Ashe at Grassroots Finance Action points out, these communities often turn to informal savings and credit groups to meet their financial needs – but there are many who are too poor and marginalized to be invited to be part of these groups. He explores a proposal that aims to expand access to informal savings groups to reach these financially excluded individuals around the world.
- Categories
- Finance
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Embracing Digital Solutions in Last Mile Distribution: Six Steps for Introducing New Tools to Sales Agents
COVID-19 has accelerated the shift towards greater digitalization that was already well underway in the last mile distribution sector. According to Gerwin Jansen and Yvonne Achieng at Bopinc, more digital services are coming onto the market to meet this demand – but regardless of the benefits of these tools, if sales agents don’t embrace them the business impacts will not be realized. They explore how last mile distributors can successfully embed digital solutions in their sales teams, presenting a six-step approach to rolling out new digital services to agents.
- Categories
- Technology
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How Low- to Middle-Income Internet Users View Data Privacy and Protection: New Research From India and the United States
One side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increased adoption and expansion of digital services, including among low- to middle-income users. Decodis CEO Daryl Collins argues that it is becoming increasingly important to create a sense of inclusion and confidence among these consumers, as their usage of these services grows. She shares research findings that show how a sample of low- to middle-income customers in the U.S. and India are navigating the digital world – and what they think about the data-sharing these services are based on.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
