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African Fintech Startup, Mono Raises $15 Million Series A
Five months after closing $2 million in seed investment, Mono, a robust open banking platform for Africa has raised a $15 million Series A round to power the digital economy in Africa.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Cameroon’s Ejara Raises $2 Million to Offer Crypto and Investment Services in Francophone Africa
Ejara, a one-year-old company founded by Nelly Chatue-Diop, has raised $2 million to pioneer the usage of crypto and investment services in Francophone Africa.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- cryptocurrency, fintech
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The Time is Now: How to Build an Inclusive Financial System For All
As global finance leaders gather for this year’s World Bank and IMF meetings, they're meeting against a backdrop of existential crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change and widening inequalities. Dan Barker at Mastercard's Center for Inclusive Growth and Mackenzie Wallace at the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program explore why these crises raise the need – and the opportunity – to build an inclusive financial system for all. They share four principles to guide this process, and discuss the crucial roles policymakers, financial services providers, academia, community groups and NGOs can play.
- Categories
- Finance
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Backed by Greycroft, Klasha Gets $2.4 Million To Improve Cross-border Commerce in Africa
Klasha, a Lagos and San Francisco-based startup, sees a niche in cross-border commerce and provides multiple integrations and APIs to facilitate transactions in that space.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Optimizing Results-Based Financing for Off-Grid Energy: Why Localization Can Provide a Pathway to More Effective Investment
Leading investors across the energy access sector have embraced results-based financing (RBF) as a key mechanism to unlock private capital for small-scale solar and mini-grid businesses, and to advance the world toward universal electrification. But according to Audrey Desiderato at SunFunder and Martijn Veen at SNV, the remote design and management of RBF programs increases the risk that these funds will exclude local actors and innovation. They share findings from a recent white paper exploring the need for more localization in results-based financing for off-grid energy.
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Analysis: Zimbabwe Cracks Down on Currency Dealers on Social Media and Mobile Money Platforms
With the government cracking down on mobile money, the country’s financial woes may just worsen.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mexican Fintech Konfio Says Now Worth $1.3 Billion With New Capital
Konfio, which helps small businesses secure loans, said the funds will be used to broaden its reach in Latin America’s second-largest economy.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Analysis: The Precarious State of MSMEs: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 and Opportunities To Support Their Recovery
In May 2020, The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), as part of our partnership with Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth, launched a six-wave, longitudinal survey examining the impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs in four countries: Colombia, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- financial inclusion, MSMEs
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