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Bringing IT Jobs to Rural India: Betting long on India’s youth
In many BoP markets, there is a gap between the talent requirements of employers and the skills of candidates in the job market. Half of India’s 1.2 billion people are under the age of 25, yet only a privileged few will complete advanced studies and be considered employable by the IT sector. Impact sourcing firm iMerit is turning that dynamic into a strength.
- Categories
- Technology
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Kenya’s BRCK ships over 600 devices
Kenyan-developed modem-cum-router BRCK has shipped over 600 devices to 45 countries since it was launched with the goal of providing internet connectivity in off-grid rural areas.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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‘The Next Frontier of Financial Services’ (Part 2): Why some m-insurance models have more upside than others, according to BFA’s Jeremy Leach
"The (m-insurance models) that look best are the loyalty and ‘freemium’ models at this stage, primarily because consumers need the market-making capabilities of experiencing their product first, before they are willing to pay for it," says Jeremy Leach of BFA, in the second of a two-part series on microinsurance. He explores the risks and benefits of m-insurance in this Q&A.
- Categories
- Technology
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Chemical test device diagnoses without internet
A handheld device that performs a range of chemical tests and transmits the results for remote analysis through a standard mobile phone call could be commercially available within 12 months.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Mobile Money: The Battle for Africa
As enthusiasm for mobile-phone-based payments grows in Africa, operators are rushing to get a piece of potentially lucrative and ever-expanding markets and to challenge more popular and established mobile-payment services, such as Kenya’s M-Pesa.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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PRESS RELEASE: PepsiCo Unveils New Water-Modeling Tool at World Water Week
Wednesday at the Stockholm International Water Institute's annual World Water Week, PepsiCo announced the company's latest Water Report and unveiled Hydro-BID, a ground-breaking data management and modeling tool developed in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that estimates the availability of freshwater in water-scarce regions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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‘The Next Frontier of Financial Services’ (Part 1): Jeremy Leach, director at Bankable Frontier Associates, discusses microinsurance’s potential and challenges
Insurers have traditionally steered clear of the base of the pyramid, for a variety of reasons. But that’s changing, says Jeremy Leach of Bankable Frontier Associates, who sees insurance as the "next frontier of financial services." We discuss the state of the sector, and the challenges and opportunities it faces in serving the BoP, in part one of this Q&A.
- Categories
- Technology
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When It Comes to Cash Transfers, the Medium Matters: The pros and cons of delivering aid via cash, voucher or digital payment in two African programs
Mobile payments have some clear advantages over cash in the developing world, but they are not without limitations. Existing research points to lack of trust, inadequate marketing efforts and inhospitable regulatory frameworks as some of the key factors that limit the adoption of mobile financial services.
- Categories
- Technology
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