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No Internet? No Problem: Turning a Feature Phone Into a Digital Library Can Transform Lives
The cycle of poverty in developing countries is real and often riddled with misinformation. That's why the 3-2-1 Service on simple feature phones – which functions like a search engine without the internet – is so important. And people are willing to pay for it. This not only changes how users engage with their phone but also how international development agencies can engage with users to improve livelihoods.
- Categories
- Education, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications
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From Farm to Phone to Table: A Case Study Series Explores the Impact of Digital Tools on Agriculture
Over the past decade, the use of mobile phones and other digital tools in farming has skyrocketed. Today, more than 60 percent of the population in the developing world now have at least one mobile phone. USAID aims to show that digital tools can improve cost-effectiveness and development outcomes in food security and nutrition programs. Cristina Manfre and Christopher Burns explain a USAID case study series on different approaches.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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China to Shut Bitcoin Exchanges
The policy shift in the world's No. 2 economy shows how nations are wrestling with bitcoin and its place in the financial system.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- blockchain, cryptocurrency
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Digital Payments in India – The Race to Capture the Market Begins
According to a recent report on Digital Payment in India 2020 by Google, the total payment via digital instruments is expected to touch $500 billion by 2020.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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This aid agency is using chatbots to beat world hunger
WFP first began to assess food needs using text messages and interactive voice response systems in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014, with help from global information and audience measurement company Nielsen. This year, they expanded to using chatbots on the Facebook messenger platform. Approximately 170 million Africans use Facebook, mostly on their phones.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why We Broke Up the Company: A Former CEO of M-Agri Pioneer Esoko Explains
After a rapid revenue increase and the development of a mobile commerce platform, Esoko saw that it had some challenges balancing its very different product lines. Former CEO Hillary Miller-Wise walks us through the m-agri pioneer's decision to spin off into two companies.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Nestlé, Telenor Microfinance Bank partner to launch digital lending for farmers in Pakistan
Under this program, Telenor Bank has been disbursing loans to dairy farmers digitally. The bank has pioneered one of the country’s first data driven digital method in deciding the loan limits with near instant loans. Hence, the loans are disbursed directly to the farmers via Telenor Bank’s mobile banking platform, Easypaisa mobile wallets.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Perspective: What the World Can Learn From India’s Cash Experiment
A report last month showed that 99 percent of invalidated bills have now made their way back to banks, suggesting the government's plan to extinguish illicit cash has foundered. At the same time, though, currency in circulation is down by about 25 percent from where it would otherwise have been, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, while electronic transactions are up.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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