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How India Is Moving Toward a Digital-First Economy
On November 8, 2016, India’s government did something that no other government had attempted before at the same scale: It decided to remove 86% of the country’s currency notes by value from circulation. Over the months that followed, more than 1 billion people participated in a “reboot” of the country’s financial and monetary system. An active debate has since ensued as to how the transition unfolded.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Kenya’s political opposition is asking supporters to stop using M-Pesa mobile money
Just as he urged his supporters to quit the vote, Odinga now called on them to cancel their subscriptions with the country’s biggest mobile operator and to not purchase dairy products from Brookside and cooking oils from Bidco.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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Viewpoint: Poor policy slowing Kenya’s ICT sector as neighbors take lead
Today, much of the traction witnessed in the last seven years has slowed to a crawl. Growth in Kenya’s ICT sector has petered out and the country is now struggling to attract fresh technology financing and prove its competitiveness amidst competition from new emerging markets such as Rwanda and Ethiopia. A recent report looking into startup financing in the region found that local e-health startups barely managed to take two per cent of Sh1.9 billion in funding that went to the sector in the last three years.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public policy
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The Curious Case of Myanmar: Can the Country Leapfrog to Digital Financial Inclusion?
Fueled by years of repressed demand, cheap Chinese phones, softening regulations and an aggressive push by the country’s mobile network operators, Myanmar leapfrogged from practically zero phones to almost exclusively smartphones. Looking at this stark contrast, a natural question arises – can Myanmar leapfrog from financial exclusion to "digital" financial inclusion, just as it did in telecom?
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Safaricom sets up online sales portal as net profit hits $252 million
Telecommunications firm Safaricom has established an online sales platform in a move expected to roil Kenya’s fast-growing e-commerce market.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MTN Takes on Vodacom to Become Africa’s Biggest Digital Bank
Already the continent’s biggest mobile-phone company by subscribers, Johannesburg-based MTN is adding about 500,000 active banking customers a month, Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter, 50, said on Wednesday. About 20 million people use MTN’s mobile banking now, he said in an interview at Bloomberg’s office in the South African city.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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Google Tez sees early success in India
It already has more than 7.5 million users, and has seen more than 30 million transactions since its launch in September. But it's no surprise that Google's seen early success in India.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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The Longest Last Mile: Are India’s Poor Ready for Digital Financial Services?
With the Indian government working to transform the country into a digital economy, the focus of financial inclusion is heavily inclined toward digital financial services for all. But are India’s poor ready for this shift? Anoushaka Chandrashekar and Misha Sharma at IFMR LEAD argue that poor customers are far from reaching this stage, and that policymakers and practitioners should focus on access and usage, rather than introducing digital products that very few people use.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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