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How a Couple Installed 798 Self-Cleaning ‘Smart’ Toilets Across India
“We observed that public toilets made from brick and mortar with ceramic sanitary fittings faced constant problems of high operational expenditure, lack of water, electricity, and ventilation inside the toilets in addition to maintenance issues,” says Mayank.
- Categories
- Technology, WASH
- Region
- South Asia
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Internet and Social Media Shutdowns Cost African Economies Over $2 Billion in 2019
Shutting down internet and social media access—an increasingly popular choice for governments on the continent in response to protests and dissent—came at a cost of $2.1 billion last year.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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AI Can Do a Lot for Financial Services Penetration in the Hinterlands in India
The departure from a ‘brick-and-mortar’ structure to branchless banking (agent & mobile) can be attributed to ICT adoption by users. This has led to a structural and technical reform in the financial services landscape in the last decade.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Meet the Zayed Sustainability Prize Finalists
This year, finalists include start-ups which have developed technologies to combat plastic waste and the spread of disease, as well as improving access to clean electricity.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Viewpoint: How Emerging Markets Will Be Disrupted by Tech
Candidate disruptive technologies include automation, artificial intelligence, aeroponics, block chain, batteries, clean energy, drones, stem cells, 3-D printing and virtual reality. The repercussions should these technologies gain traction are far from straightforward for emerging and frontier markets.
- Categories
- Technology
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Coronavirus, Employment and Data: Announcing NextBillion’s 2020 Special Series
NextBillion is pleased to announce the topics of our 2020 special series. These three year-long series will cover innovations and challenges in employment, the "untold stories" of social entrepreneurs, and the risks and opportunities of Big Data. Each will be managed by a different member of our editorial team. Check out the descriptions here, and email the appropriate editor if you’d like to discuss a potential guest article. We’re looking forward to following the discussion!
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
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12 Biggest African Tech Funding Deals In 2019
In 2019, Nigerian and Kenyan fintech and logistics firms secured major funding deals while an Egyptian startup attracted $42 million — the largest round of funding for a tech startup in Egypt to date.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- startups
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‘Are We There Yet?’: How to Deal with Delays – And Other Challenges – In Acquiring Financial Transaction Data
“Are we there yet?” It’s a familiar refrain to any parent who has taken a child on a long journey – and it's also a common dilemma for programs that promote data-driven decision-making in financial inclusion. As Karen Kühlcke at insight2impact explains, requests for financial transaction data from external organizations can involve delays of several months, even as the partner confidently claims that “the data is arriving soon.” She explores how to manage this challenge to gain faster data access.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Tags
- data, financial inclusion
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