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Mobile money transfers have taken off in Somalia, but it’s a risky business
Unlike Kenya’s famous Mpesa mobile money transfer services, Somalia’s transfers are mainly available in US dollars. Though the companies offering mobile money services are mobile network operators, as in Kenya, they are increasingly forming part of large conglomerates that also offer banking and money transfer services.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Tez Financial Services Raises $1.1M in Seed Funding
The company intends to use the funds to build its credit portfolio, enhance its mobile technology platform, and secure an NBMFC license.
- Region
- South Asia
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IFC and Alipay Announce 10×1000 Tech for Inclusion Programme to Inspire Technology Leaders in Emerging Markets
Alibaba Group founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma said that the programme aims to build an interactive and open platform to increase support for tech leaders and skilled individuals who are working to alleviate poverty and make basic financial services more broadly accessible in Indonesia, which will be the first stop of the programme within emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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‘Fintech can transform Asia’s women entrepreneurs’
The ESCAP initiative, launched on 29 September on a side meeting during the 2018 UN General Assembly, viewed women’s entrepreneurship as key to economic growth and inclusion.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: The challenges for fintech adoption in India
Promoting fintech in India is preaching to the choir. In 2005, then Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Y.V. Reddy used the term ‘financial inclusion’ for the first time in the central bank’s annual policy statement. In the decade and change since, it has become one of the leitmotifs of governance.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Netherland’s FMO arranges US $ 50mn syndicated loan for Nations Trust Bank
This syndicated transaction is FMO’s first repeat deal for NTB, following a subordinated loan which was provided 8 years earlier to further the bank’s ambitious growth strategy.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- banking, banks, development finance, emerging markets, LMICs, SMEs
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Viewpoint: China’s Role As The World’s Development Bank Cannot Be Ignored
China's far-reaching financing carries considerable risks — for China and the borrowers alike. Rather than welcoming China and helping it learn the hard lessons learned by others, the United States is mistakenly shunning Chinese development finance around the globe.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Diving into the Gap: What Separates Savers from Non-Savers?
In three years, the gap between the poorest 40 percent and the richest 60 percent nearly doubled across many developing countries. Meanwhile, the gap between primary and secondary school graduates has also doubled – and these inequalities in income and education are more significant than ever in dividing savers and non-savers. Scott Graham at FINCA International analyzes the latest FINDEX numbers to explore how we can reconcile a decline in savings, while poverty is largely falling throughout the world.
- Categories
- Finance
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