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Brazilian FinTech Rebel Lands $10M For Affordable Loan Products
"Traditional banks claim that credit in Brazil is expensive because of delinquency rates; but in reality, delinquency is high because the country has the highest interest rates in the world. It is a perverse and vicious cycle, and a difficult one to overturn. That’s why we are rebels: Our goal is to break up with this loop and start a new and virtuous cycle.”
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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Kenya’s Safaricom Tests New Mobile Savings Service
Policymakers say the East African nation suffers from a low national savings rate and analysts said Safaricom could be looking to target that untapped market with the new product, dubbed “Mali” (Kiswahili for wealth).
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Lessons From M-Pesa for Africa’s New VC-Rich Fintech Startups
Over the last decade, Africa has been in the midst of a startup boom accompanied by big growth in VC and improvements in internet and mobile penetration.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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From Heritage to Habit: Why Digital Remittances Languish in Some Cultures But Surge in Others
Thirty years after their introduction, digital remittances have failed to take off. Some 90% of remittances still begin as cash and end as cash - even when banks are the intermediary. Lack of trust, access and interoperability - to name just a few challenges - are keeping lower-income people tied to costlier cash transfers. However, remittance providers and related fintech entities are exploring many new avenues to encourage recipients to keep remittances in the digital ecosystem and possibly use them for other financial products, writes Steven Davidson with Mondato.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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This Digital Platform Fights Corruption by Bypassing the Officials Demanding Bribes
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the tax payment system could require many kickbacks to corrupt officials. A new digital platform lets people pay their taxes directly.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kredivo’s Parent Firm FinAccel Raises $90m to Expand Its Credit Lending Platform in Southeast Asia
The app enables customers to secure credit between $100 and $2,200. If a customer pays it back in full in a month, FinAccel does not charge them any fee.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Report: Over 70% of Ghanaians Trust Mobile Money More Than Financial Institutions
Over 70% of Ghanaians trust mobile money more than other financial institutions.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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What’s Really Driving Africa’s ‘Investment Frenzy’?: An Entrepreneur Responds to Investor Concerns
In her much-discussed NextBillion article about avoiding “the Africa investment frenzy,” impact investor Lauren Cochran urged entrepreneurs to forego the “growth-at-all-costs” approach to scaling and “the ego-boost of big rounds and press releases.” But Zoona co-founder Mike Quinn argues that her advice ignores a reality that many investors don’t recognize. Quinn pushes back on Cochran's argument from an entrepreneur's perspective in this compelling counterpoint.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing
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