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The Power of Trust in Digital Finance: How to Leverage Trusted Technology to Maximize Inclusion and Impact
Trust can be a significant barrier to engagement in digital financial services among low-income users. According to William Derban at Opportunity International, that means providers must often take measures to address this trust deficit when developing digital services that target these customers — particularly women. He discusses Opportunity International's new Trusted Tech Microfinance Initiative, and shares six ways the initiative is working to build clients’ trust in the technologies Opportunity and its microfinance partners are using.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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The Urgent Need to Address Climate Impacts on MSMEs: Recommendations for Designing Right-Fit Tools and Solutions
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) provide a critical link to goods and services while generating income for millions of households around the world. But as Bethany Kanten at Mercy Corps Ventures points out, these businesses remain underserved in several areas that are limiting their resilience to key challenges – including climate change. She shares new research based on interviews with hundreds of MSMEs in Africa, which reveals the opportunity for innovators, investors and funders to positively impact these enterprises with climate solutions.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing, Telecommunications
- Tags
- climate change, innovation, MSMEs, research, startups
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GSMA Publishes Vision for a ‘Circular Economy’ of Mobile Devices
In the lead-up to COP27, the GSMA has published a new, long-term vision for how the mobile industry can increase the circularity of its supply and production chains for mobile devices.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Global
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A Hidden Driver of Financial Inclusion: Why Enabling Regulation is Essential to Fintech Success in Emerging Markets
Fintech innovation is jumpstarting financial inclusion around the world, driven in part by enabling regulation which allows providers to experiment with new approaches. But as Monica Brand Engel, Ganesh Rengaswamy and Jonathan Whittle at Quona Capital explain, it can be difficult for regulators to simultaneously fuel innovation, adapt to new technologies and government mandates, and protect customers. They explore what the fintech sector can learn from successful regulatory approaches in countries like Brazil and India.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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Can Access to Smartphones Bridge the Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Research shows that mobile phones can be a useful tool in the fight against poverty, increasing both household income and consumption. But according to Amani M’Bale at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Graham A.N. Wright at MicroSave (MSC), to reach that potential, it’s important that these phones are able to bridge the digital divide, becoming accessible to, and used by, the underserved people they can benefit the most. They share several factors that can increase — or limit — the usage of smartphones and other mobile devices in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
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The Benefits – And Downsides – of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’: Is it Enhancing or Hindering Financial Inclusion?
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) schemes offer consumers immediate possession of goods, which they pay for over time via (usually interest-free) installments. According to Sarah Corley at the Alliance of Digital Finance Associations and Lotte Schou Zibell at the Asian Development Bank, BNPL can expand financial inclusion and access to consumer goods in emerging economies – but by offering easier access to credit, it also presents some pitfalls. They discuss the growth of BNPL, its benefits and risks, and some key practices that can maximize its positive impacts while avoiding potential downsides.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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Safaricom Gets Approval to Launch M-Pesa in Ethiopia
M-Pesa, the Kenyan mobile money service success story that began in 2007, is continuing its expansion, this time into Ethiopia.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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South African Digital Identity Startup iiDENTIFii Raises Record $15 Million
Cybercrime within the financial sector is a growing threat to Africa. iiDENTIFii will use this investment to fund its expansion across the continent.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa