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Viewpoint: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: What Does It Mean for Africa?
The invasion has done profound damage to Russia’s relations with the West, which will be difficult to reverse as long as Putin and like-minded people around him are in power. Africa should brace itself for the challenging years ahead.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Finance, Health Care, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Visa Partners With Fintech Tribal in Latin America to Expand Small Business Offerings
Visa Inc (V.N), the world's largest payment processor, will partner with payment and financing firm Tribal to expand its offerings for small and medium-sized businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- blockchain, fintech
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Stax Gets $2.2M for Its App That Lets Africans Make Transactions via Automated USSD Codes
Stax, a startup that allows Africans to buy airtime, send and request money, and transfer funds between accounts via automated USSD codes, has raised a $2.2 million seed extension round.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Actis Energy 5 secures $1.2 Billion Impact-Linked Financing
Actis has secured an impact-linked revolving subscription credit facility for its latest energy fund, Actis Energy 5.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Deconstructing the Monolith: Why Understanding Women’s Individual Needs is Key to Closing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion
How can financial service providers tailor their products to boost women's financial inclusion? Scott Graham and Anahit Tevosyan at FINCA discuss the findings of a survey of 2,800 financial consumers in the DRC, which showed – perhaps counterintuitively – that focusing on gender as the defining characteristic of a female client is exactly the wrong approach. They explore why it's necessary to “deconstruct the monolith” of female clients by digging into sub-segments of the market to understand their specific needs and constraints.
- Categories
- Finance
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Insuring the Next 400 Million in India: Why the Mutual Insurance Model Presents a Clear Path to Scale
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on India’s healthcare system, causing challenges ranging from a lack of medical oxygen to limited hospital capacity. But as Payal Agarwal at Uplift Mutuals explains, the pandemic has also brought to light the inadequate insurance infrastructure in the country, which accounts for almost 18% of the world's population but only 1.72% of the global insurance market. She shares the results of a new report exploring the potential of mutual and cooperative insurance to close that gap in India, and discusses how this model can be scaled.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
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Analysis: Development Finance Institutions Are Looking to Africa’s Digital Frontier for Impact and Returns
Development finance institutions have long funded traditional finance and infrastructure projects in Africa; now they’re increasingly backing Africa’s digital future. What will this mean for the continent?
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- startups
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Understanding COVID-19’s Impact on PAYGo Solar: Data From a Pioneering Study Reveals Key Insights About the Sector’s Financial Sustainability
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on PAYGo solar, causing up to 23 million people and 600,000 enterprises to miss out on improved energy access. Drew Corbyn at GOGLA, Bill Gallery at IFC and Roan Borst at Triple Jump share the results of a first-of-its-kind study that measured the impact of the crisis on the sector’s financial performance, based on data collected from 13 PAYGo solar companies. They discuss what these findings mean for the industry as it works to emerge from the pandemic’s ongoing disruptions.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy, Finance, Impact Assessment