-
Fighting ‘Tech Complacency’ in Social Enterprise: Why it’s Time to Embrace Blockchain
All around us, Fortune 500 firms and VCs are embracing disruptive innovation – so why aren't more social entrepreneurs following suit? Gautam Ivatury, founder and CEO of LendLedger, says the time has come for the social sector to take some risks and get out of its comfort zone – instead of simply waiting for technologies to filter down to its target beneficiaries. With blockchain, he says, social entrepreneurs "can redraw how industries work, not just create the latest in an endless series of mission-driven service providers."
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
-
Solar Startups Are Plugging Africa’s Energy Gap
Based on current trends, the World Bank predicts that even by 2040 over half a billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa will still lack electricity. Although energy use across sub-Saharan Africa has risen by 45% since 2000, supply has not kept pace with demand.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Viewpoint: Impact of digitisation: The new rural reality
Rural India contributes a substantial part of the total net value added in many sectors, with an overall 46% contribution to Indian national income.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
Press release: BBOXX pilots internet service to expand from off-grid electricity to additional utilities
In Rwanda, BBOXX has created internet connections via Wi-Fi Hotspots in a joint venture with Axiom Networks. So far, 10 fixed hotspots, powered by BBOXX solar systems, have been installed for the pilot.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- data, rural development
-
Playing Drake While Ploughing Dirt: Tech Giants Are Bringing The Internet To Rural India, But Is Data The Price?
HuffPost India met with villagers living near Dholpur, a small town in Rajasthan, where Tata Trusts and Google India have been running a project called 'Internet Saathi' to train rural Indians to use a smartphone to access the Internet.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- data, rural development
-
Why ‘Chat Banking’ is the Future of Financial Services in Africa
WhatsApp alone reports that users send 65 billion messages per day. Yet, despite the continued growth of messaging apps and changing user behavior, very little has been done to integrate financial services into the messaging experience. Sidharth Garg, founder and CEO of Teller, recently returned from East Africa, where he researched user behavior as it relates to mobile money, mobile phone use and communication preferences. He sees a vast opportunity in integrating banking, payments and mobile money features into messaging apps. He thinks now is the time to invest in those integrating technologies, and that Africa may be the place.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech
-
New York’s growing ‘tech for good’ community
Ventures that stress both social purpose and profit are benefiting from a growing ecosystem.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North America
-
African Fintech startups to look out for in 2018
From mobile money transfer apps to tech firms determined to help users save, these tech startups come from all over Africa.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.