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Weekly Roundup: OPIC’s Big Jump with LeapFrog; the Dearth of Do-gooder Drones
With a $200 million planned investment by the U.S. government’s development finance arm, impact equity firm LeapFrog Investments has now attracted $1 billion in funds to invest in companies reaching low-income people with financial and healthcare services. This week, the board of directors for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved the investment, as well as eight others. LeapFrog’s announcement hailed the OPIC investment as “the largest commitment in history to any impact fund manager.” That’s not something I could independently confirm, but it is OPIC’s largest single commitment to a private equity manager.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Trend: Fintech Startups Providing Capital to SMEs in India
New entrepreneurs and small enterprises, which have typically been locked out of the financial system and ignored by big banks and other financial institutions, have found solace in a breed of new financial technology start-ups.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- lending
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Facebook Brings Its Internet.org Innovation Challenge to Africa
Facebook is launching the Internet.org Innovation Challenge in Africa. According to the company, with the aim of recognising developers and entrepreneurs who are using the internet to improve the standard of education and economic health in their communities. Developers across Africa are invited to enter the challenge.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Eight Reasons to Invest in African Tech Innovation
In Africa, the middle class is growing, populations are urbanizing, IT infrastructure is improving and cell phones and mobile payments are more widely used than in most of the world. All of this has contributed to a recent tech startup boom that has garnered growing interest from international investors. Here are eight reasons why African technological innovation is a wise investment.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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U.S.-Based eClinicalWorks to Invest $30 Million in India
U.S.-based healthcare IT firm eClinicalWorks will invest $30 million as part of its expansion plans for the digital healthcare market in India.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Omidyar Network Leads Investment in Technology that Enables Central Banks to Issue Digital Fiat Currency
Omidyar Network announced today a for-profit investment in eCurrency Mint (eCM), a Dublin-based company that has pioneered a new technology that enables central banks to issue digital fiat currency, called eCurrency. eCurrency is different from the various forms of private sector digital value available today because it is issued by a central bank and has the same legal and monetary status as notes and coins.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Vodafone Brings Mobile Money to 15M People Without Bank Acccounts in Ghana
Vodafone has launched its mobile money scheme M-Pesa in Ghana, bringing a cash transfer service to the 15m people in the country who do not have a bank account.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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M-Tiba Health App Launched in Kenya
Safaricom has launched a new health payment application named M-Tiba in partnership with PharmAccess Foundation and CarePay, to make medical payments easier and more transparent.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa