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Building the Financial Services Stack of the Future: Why True Resilience Requires a More Holistic Approach
Over the last decade, financial inclusion has experienced unprecedented progress, as 79% of adults globally now have a financial account compared to 62% 10 years ago. But according to Payal Dalal at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, most financial inclusion initiatives are still organized around verticals like loans, savings and insurance, and delivered through separate providers and channels, which forces customers to piece them together into a comprehensive safety net or growth path. She argues that the financial services stack of the future must address this lack of integration, delivering solutions that meet multiple financial needs simultaneously — while responding to the growing headwinds that individuals and entrepreneurs face today.
- Categories
- Finance
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British International Investment Achieves Over £300 Million in Green Energy Commitments Across South-East Asia
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) announced it has committed £308 million in climate finance across South-East Asia during its current strategy period, advancing its ambition to invest up to £500 million by 2026.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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AI Risk Management in Digital Finance: Protecting Africa’s Underbanked from Invisible Threats
Digital finance has been a game-changer for financial inclusion across Africa. But as information technology security analyst Nathaniel Adeniyi Akande explains, many communities remain excluded — and though AI-powered lending tools offer new opportunities to reach them, these tools also introduce new risks that can undermine trust or even exclude the people they are designed to serve. He argues that it is digital lenders’ responsibility to anticipate and mitigate these threats, and explores several practices that are essential to AI risk management in the sector.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Analysis: A Defining Moment for African Economic Transformation
For the first time, the world’s largest economies gathered on the continent to examine the unfair cost of capital, the inefficiencies that block domestic investment, and the reforms needed to support Africa’s trajectory toward a more prosperous, equitable future.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zazu Raises $1 Million Pre-Seed Round to Reinvent SME Banking Across Africa
With more than 50 SMEs already in beta and over 1,000 businesses on its waitlist, Zazu aims to serve Africa’s 50 million underserved SMEs.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, MSMEs, startups
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Mastercard Unveils SME Card With Built-in Cybersecurity Solutions to Help Small and Medium Businesses Thrive in the Digital Economy
The innovative features, including my cyber risk and identity theft protection, help protect SMEs from growing cyber threats while supporting their digital transformation.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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BHub Raises $10 Million to Bring AI to Brazil’s Accounting Market
BHub, a Brazilian financial back-office solution for SMEs in Latam, raised a $10M extension round, bringing its total funding to $55M.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Analysis: How Wise’s Entry Into South Africa Could Transform International Money Transfers
This marks Wise’s first fully licensed operation on the African continent, a milestone with big implications.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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