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Can Amazon Go help the unbanked go digital?
From a turnstile entrance that identifies shoppers by scanning their smartphones to tracking cameras that know what is pulled from each shelf, Amazon Go bills itself as the shopping experience of the future. But where do the working poor fit into such a future? Or otherwise underserved and rural communities that may not have access to internet connections, smartphones or even checking accounts?
- Categories
- Technology
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Here is a look at the legality or illegality of uses of cryptocurrencies in India
The statement of the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget speech on cryptocurrencies created quite a disruption, with many speculating that the statement implied that cryptocurrencies were banned in India.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- regulations
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Solar power pay-as-you-go projects in Africa are getting major funding
Services that allow customers to pay for solar equipment and service in small installments have picked up momentum in the past couple of years, particularly in East Africa. Two firms that supply solar power products with pay-as-you-go products have raised a total of $75 million in financing this month to back up that long-held vision.
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- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Business Accelerator Puts India’s Urban WASH Challenges Front and Center
India's cities are plagued by multiple water, sanitation and hygiene challenges, from inadequate drinking water to low sewerage network coverage. Private sector innovators and entrepreneurs are tackling these challenges with new technologies, products, services and business models. But their successes are inconsequential compared with the scale of the problem. Niyatee Goyal and Aditya Tejas at Ennovent discuss a USAID-supported platform that's addressing these problems on several fronts – including through a business accelerator.
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- Health Care, Technology, WASH
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Jibu Announces Completion of $7 Million Series B Financing
Jibu, a social enterprise that has reinvented the traditional franchise model to equip emerging market entrepreneurs to build solutions that close infrastructure gaps and ensure access to basic human necessities, announces the completion of its $7 million Series B financing round, bringing its total raised to more than $10 million. The Company will use the funds to accelerate its launch of 1,000 drinking water franchises in at least a dozen new countries by 2022.
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- Environment, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Crowdfunded Farming: Connecting Investors with Smallholders in Indonesia
Despite the importance of agriculture in Indonesia's economy, smallholder farmers are 2.3 times poorer than the general population – and they have little access to formal financing that could boost their production and income. Because of this, many fall prey to loan sharks and go into debt. To address this vicious cycle, the crowdfunding platform Crowde is helping smallholders connect with investors, who help finance their farms in exchange for profit-sharing. Heri Siswanto discusses the successes – and challenges – of this approach.
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- Agriculture, Investing, Technology
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Melinda Gates Launches Initiative to Reduce Poverty With New Technology
Melinda Gates has launched a high-level international commission to spark new thinking on how developing countries can best harness new technologies to reduce poverty. The wife of Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates spoke at the launch of the commission in Nairobi on Thursday.
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- Technology
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Revolutionizing Payday: Mobile Money’s Transformative Impact on Liberia’s Public Workers
Imagine if every time you picked up your paycheck, you had to navigate a long and dangerous ride, deal with endless lines and cash shortages at the bank, and pay expensive fees and bribes – a process that cost you several work days and up to 15 percent of your salary. That used to be the situation facing health and education workers in Liberia, but the government’s innovative use of mobile money has turned things around. Erica Bustinza of FHI 360 oversees the program that made this possible, and she discusses its impact.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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