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Zimbabwe to review mobile money tax after backlash
Using official 2017 statistics on total mobile money transaction value, the tax hike increases government takings from the service by almost ten times.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, public policy
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Safaricom and Western Union sign money transfer deal
Mpesa customers will be able to send and receive money at any Western Union centers across the world after Safaricom and Western Union inked a money transfer deal.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, remittances
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Cash is replacing other forms of aid, even in conflict zones
Giving cash to poor people is not a new idea. The UN sends money direct to bank accounts it sets up for Syrian refugees in Jordan; many countries use cash transfers as part of their social safety nets. What is new is donors’ willingness to give out cash in war zones.
- Categories
- Finance
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India’s Biggest Private Company Gets Paid on a Blockchain
Reliance Industries, India’s largest private sector firm, has successfully participated in its first ever trade finance transaction powered by blockchain technology.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Closing the Cash Gap With Cryptocurrency
In emerging markets, the shallow reach of traditional money systems means there’s less resistance to new financial technology.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Visa strengthens East Africa presence through partnership with Tanzanian telecom firm
Through the partnership, HaloPesa will offer consumers the option to pay a merchant with interoperable Visa QR Codes that are being rolled out as part of Visa on mobile expansion in the market.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Chopping Block to Starting Block: How OPIC (Now IDFC) is Writing the Next Chapter in U.S. Development Finance
The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) just survived a near death experience. The agency was among the proposed cuts when the Trump administration came into power and began budget negotiations. But with the passage of the BUILD Act, OPIC will transform into the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, with a new budget and a new set of financial tools. We caught up with David Bohigian, Executive Vice President of OPIC, at SOCAP18 to find out what these changes mean for entrepreneurs and others seeking development finance.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
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Banker proposes new blockchain technology for African market
A new mobile phone blockchain network is under development and is projected to acquire large-scale consumer adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2021.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa