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Kenyan agri-tech startup Taimba wins $10k at SXSW
Kenyan startup Taimba, which connects farmers to retailers, was one of three winners of the 2018 Food+City Challenge Prize at the recent SXSW event, taking home US$10,000 in prize money.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Demonetization Crisis May Be Over, but the Time for Tech Upgrades in Indian Microfinance Is Now
India's 2016 banknote demonetization sent shockwaves through the country's microfinance sector, causing MFIs to write off US$ 1.1 billion in bad loans. In response, cash-dependent MFIs stepped up investment in fintech – but now that the crisis has passed, so perhaps has their sense of urgency. Elliot Rosenberg of Awaaz.De argues that the need to embrace tech is as strong as ever.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
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Accenture, Grameen Foundation collaborate to leverage AI, AR to help low-income women
New applications leverage the power of artificial intelligence and augmented reality to improve financial capacity and decision-making for and by the poor.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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This House Can Be 3D-Printed For $4,000
New Story, a company that builds housing in the developing world, has a new invention: a massive 3D printer that will soon be able to extrude an entire four-room house in less than a day.
- Categories
- Technology
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EdTech is having a renaissance, powered by the emerging world
So-called ‘EdTech’ has seen many false dawns over the years. After being lauded as the teaching platforms of the future, most MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course platforms) have not quite lived up to the superlatives made for them, and the sector has had trouble coming up with more innovative ideas for a while.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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MIT, Mastercard Foundation Launch Prize for Financial Inclusion in Africa
The Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in association with the Mastercard Foundation, Wednesday announced the launch of the 2018 edition of the pan-African Zambezi Prize for Innovation in Financial Inclusion.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Telenor Group and Ant Financial in strategic partnership to deliver inclusive financial services in Pakistan
Telenor Group has reached a strategic partnership agreement with Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial") in Pakistan, where Ant Financial will invest USD 184.5m for a 45% stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank ("TMB"), a subsidiary of Telenor Group, to further develop TMB's mobile payment and digital financial services.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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How Incorporating Behavioral Science into Cash Transfer Programs Is Changing Lives
More than $200 million in direct cash payments is distributed daily to fight poverty in over 120 developing countries. Evidence shows that the programs are working – but there is new pressure on them to enhance their effectiveness. Josh Martin and Laura Rawlings discuss how ideas42 and the World Bank, with funding from the Global Innovation Initiative, are leveraging behavioral science to help families make the most effective use of cash payments to achieve their goals.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology