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What makes Senegal’s digital currency different?
Towards the end of last year, a regional bank for francophone west Africa, Banque Régionale de Marchés (BRM), issued a digital currency in Senegal (which it initially dubbed the eCFA but has since decided to rename). It acts similar to other digital currencies and consumers can interact with it across existing payment platforms, such as electronic and mobile wallets.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Government departments lap up digital payment solutions in India
Online payment service providers and mobile wallet companies have recorded a huge surge in queries and sign-ups from various governmental departments across sectors such as education, health and power, in the last two months. The tie-ups come at a time when these departments have been instructed to carry a majority of their transactions through digital modes to eliminate corruption and reduce the dependence on cash.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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Four Cautionary Lessons About Education Technology
There is no denying that governments around the world are expanding investments in education technology, from inputs that students use directly (like Kenya’s project to put tablets in schools) to digital resources to improve the education system (like Rio de Janeiro’s school management system). As public and private school systems continue to integrate technology into their classrooms, remember that education technology comes with risks. Michael Trucano, my colleague and the World Bank's resident expert on education technology, highlighted four caveats during a wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Ladek on the Terms of Reference podcast.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Uganda: How Technology Is Changing the Face of Banking
A wave of technological innovation has suddenly swept through the Ugandan banking space in recent times. Key developments within the sector have erased memories of dreary days when people had to walk into banking halls, wait in queues to withdraw money, deposit savings or request for a loan. Only people doing complex transactions have kept at this tedious process.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- innovation
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Paytm Is Accelerating Its Banking Push in India
Indian mobile wallet firm Paytm plans to launch its banking operations within two months, according to Bloomberg.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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Mark Zuckerberg’s Philanthropy Organization Acquired a Startup to Help Cure the World’s Diseases
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan's philanthropic organization has bought Meta, a search engine that uses artificial intelligence to find scientific research papers.
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- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- philanthropy
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Safaricom Extends Lead on Mobile Money Transfers
Safaricom has expanded the value of mobile money transfers under its M-pesa platform by 4.45, latest industry data shows, as the company continues to lead in the mobile money market.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Kenya Targets 1 Million Digital Jobs for Youths in a Year
Kenya has started a digital skills training program to enable 1 million young people to secure freelance online work in the next year, in a bid to tackle the country's acute youth unemployment problem.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- employment