-
It’s the Ecosystem, Stupid – Exploring the ‘Digital Poverty Stack,’ Part 1
Donor investments to leverage technology have largely failed to achieve their imagined potential, often producing sub-scale pilot projects which do not solve a real problem. Instead, donors should focus on building a “digital poverty stack,” a set of interoperable and reusable digital tools that can be built into a large number of applications.
- Categories
- Technology
-
Lab-on-a-Stick: Miniaturised Clinical Testing for Fast Detection of Antibiotic Resistance
A portable power-free test for the rapid detection of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been developed by academics at Loughborough University and the University of Reading.The new test termed Lab-on-a-Stick is an inexpensive microfluidic strip – comprising of tiny test tubes about the size of a human hair – capable of identifying bacteria found in urine samples and checking if they are resistant to common antibiotics.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
-
Curing Silicon Valley’s Myopia: Ross Baird, on How to Change the Narrative Around Investment and Innovation
Silicon Valley is home to some of the most brilliant innovators and deep-pocketed investors in the world. So why are they focusing so much of their time and resources on solving petty problems, while ignoring countless more pressing concerns? Village Capital's executive director Ross Baird discusses the problem and some potential solutions in this podcast.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
- Tags
- impact investing
-
KCB M-Pesa Loans Hit Sh10.3bn Since Launch
Mobile-based bank account KCB M-Pesa has disbursed a total of Sh10.3 billion in loans to its customers since March last year, indicating a growing appetite for short-term loans.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Fingerprint Technology Expanding In African Mobile Banking
London-based bank Standard Chartered plans this year to introduce biometric technology to customers in eight African countries so they can use fingerprints to access their mobile money — a process known as touch login — versus usernames and passwords.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
-
WorldRemit Brings Mobile Transfers to Malawi
Digital money transfer service WorldRemit has introduced overseas remittances to mobile money accounts in Malawi. Users of the WorldRemit app or website will be able to securely send money transfers to any Airtel Money account in the country.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Visa Is Planning a Mobile Payments Push Into Nigeria
Though no launch date has been announced, Visa is in “advanced discussions” with major Nigerian banks. mVisa, which launched in India last August, is primarily an in-store payment method, allowing users to pay for goods or services by scanning a QR code on a smartphone or entering a merchant identifier into their feature phones.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, mobile finance
-
Weekly Roundup: Foundation Under Fire, Hartigan Remembered and Blockchain Unchained
NB's editors pay their respects to social entrepreneurship pioneer Pamela Hartigan, ponder the future of the Clinton Foundation, discuss blockchain technology's march toward the development sector mainstream, opine on Michael Bloomberg's new role with the World Health Organization, and wonder why, if everyone's talking about "rigorous research," no one is using it?
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- blockchain, research
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.