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Paytm Launches Wi-Fi Pilot in India; Enables Free Internet for a Limited Duration
Underlining its digital-first approach, Paytm, India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform, has announced the launch of its ambitious pilot project to enable seamless internet connectivity for users. Under this initiative, Paytm is enabling limited-duration free Wi-Fi for its users in partnership with a licensed ISP. The first such Wi-Fi initiative is already underway near the Noida-18 metro station in partnership with a licensed ISP.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Philippines’ Tax Bureau Taps Mobile Payment for Tax Collection
The Philippines' Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has partnered with Globe Telecom's GCash mobile money service for its tax collection effort.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech, infrastructure
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MasterCard Drives New P2P Solution in Bangladesh
In a quartet joining forces to bring mobile cross-border payments to 22 million Bangladeshis, MasterCard is linking up with Western Union, bKash and BRAC bank.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech, remittances
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WeChat Proprietor Tencent Seeks $2 Billion Loan for FinTech Expansion
The Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, most famous for its WeChat messaging app, is reported to be soliciting a loan that could run as high as two billion dollars in order to deepen its interests in the FinTech sector.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Ghana’s Startup Bub Pioneer Is Going Pan-African With a $50 Million Fund
Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has built one of Africa’s best known startup ecosystems in Accra, Ghana over the last eight years—and now it’s doubling down on a push to take its vision pan-African.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- incubators
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In the Birthplace of Mobile Money, Kenyans Prefer Paying Cash for Uber
Despite fierce opposition from traditional taxi drivers, Kenya has become one of Uber’s fastest-growing African markets, and allowing cash payments played a crucial role in the growth, according to Alon Lits, Uber general manager for sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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3 Key Takeaways From Facebook’s F8 Conference
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg put it simply at the annual F8 conference in San Francisco, California, this week. Facebook’s mission, he said, is to “give everyone the power to share anything with anyone.”
- Categories
- Technology
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Viewpoint: Much Hangs on Mobile Money in East Africa
From his shack in Kangemi, a slum at the western edge of Nairobi, Gilbert Onduko sells bare essentials to his neighbours. A blackboard above the hatch lists prices for ugali(maize cooked into a sort of porridge), farina (similar to semolina) and cooking oil. On the roof of the shack is a small solar panel, about the size of a tea tray, which powers two lights inside and a mobile phone. Since he got it, about a month before your correspondent visited, Mr Onduko has been able to keep his shop open until midnight rather than just in the daytime. He has also cut down his kerosene bill by 100 shillings (about $1) a day—a hefty saving in a Nairobi slum. “And now my phone is always charged,” he grins.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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