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Digital Finance Fuels Record Savings Growth in Developing Nations: World Bank
In 2024, formal saving in developing economies hit a decade high, driven by mobile and digital finance, with 40 percent using financial institutions.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Global
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M-Kopa Lawsuit Alleges Racial Disparity in Employee Equity, Firm Says Claim Is Baseless
". . . if the case proceeds, it could set a precedent for how employee equity is handled and how local courts view the responsibilities of global investors and holding companies operating in the Kenyan market."
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Transforming How Financial Service Providers and Fintechs Leverage Data: A New Free Tool Aims to Separate the Signal from the Noise
In today’s digital finance landscape, data is one of the most valuable assets. Yet as Sarah Corley at AllianceDFA and Mallory Sheff at DataKind explain, data remains siloed, fragmented and underutilized across the sector — and this challenge is particularly acute in emerging markets. They argue that this isn’t just a missed opportunity, but a structural barrier to inclusion and innovation, and share a free, open-access learning platform designed to help fintechs and other financial service providers turn data into action to fuel customer growth and retention.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Africa to Be Hit Hard as UK Foreign Aid Cuts Revealed
A Foreign Office report and impact assessment show the biggest cuts this year will come in Africa, with less spent on women's health and water sanitation with increased risks, it says, of disease and death.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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M-KOPA-Branded Smartphones Surpass 1 Million Sales in First Year in Kenya
Leading fintech company M-KOPA has achieved a remarkable milestone, surpassing 1 million sales of its branded smartphones within just 12 months of launch.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Swedfund Invests $10 Million to Support MSME Lending in East and Southern Africa
Swedfund, Sweden’s development finance institution, has signed a USD 10 million loan to Platcorp Holdings Limited to support lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Measuring Systems Change in Agricultural Finance in Africa: Practical Metrics and Guidance for Detecting and Tracking Real Change
Despite employing 65-70% of the region's population and contributing 20-40% of national GDPs, Africa's agriculture sector receives less than 3% of its overall commercial credit — and in some countries, that share hasn't changed for decades. But according to Carla Legros, a consultant and strategist in agricultural and inclusive finance, that doesn't necessarily mean that progress has stalled. She proposes a set of metrics for assessing whether systems change is actually happening in the continent's agricultural finance sector.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
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Brazil’s Neon Raises $129 Million in Series E Extension Round
Founded in 2016, Neon provides digital accounts, credit cards, personal loans, and investment products to customers in Brazil.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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