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Mobile Money Finally Comes to Ethiopia
Ethio Telecom, the – for now – monopoly telecommunications provider in Ethiopia, has announced the roll-out of a mobile money service.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Women Are Paying More for M-Pesa: A Gender Analysis of Mobile Money Fees in Kenya
The cost of using financial services is a key barrier to their adoption and use in low- and middle-income countries — and when it comes to mobile money transactions via M-Pesa in Kenya, those costs are greater for women, according to a recent study. Bryan Pon at Caribou Data shares details about the study's findings, and explains how understanding these gender differences could illuminate some of the obstacles women face when using digital financial services – and help inform policy or system design approaches that could address these challenges.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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‘Back in the U.S.S.D.’: Most Smartphone Owners—Especially Women—Don’t Use Apps for Financial Services
The global transition from basic mobile phones to smartphones has impacted nearly every sector, including financial services. Bryan Pon from Caribou Data considers whether this shift will help or hinder access to mobile money and digital finance for women in emerging markets — a group already less likely to be using these services. He shares the findings of a comprehensive study on how payment system design could impact gender bias in digital finance, and discusses the ongoing popularity — and under-recognized advantages — of old-fashioned USSD codes in mobile money.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
- Tags
- data, financial inclusion, fintech
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Boosting Financial Inclusion With Airtel Mobile Money
The recent investment of $200 million in Airtel Africa’s mobile money business by The Rise Fund will further enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria, since the country is one of the 14 African countries, where Airtel Africa currently operates, writes Emma Okonji.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Rise Fund to Invest $200 Million in Airtel Africa Mobile Money Business
The Transaction is the latest step in the Group's pursuit of strategic asset monetization and investment opportunities, and it is the aim of Airtel Africa to explore the potential listing of the mobile money business within four years.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Somalia Issues First License to Mobile Money Service
Somali officials on Saturday issued the country's first license to a mobile money service, bringing regulation to the widely used digital payment process for the first time.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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In the Race for Dominance in African Fintech, Partnerships With Phone Makers Are Transforming the Landscape
Corporate partnerships and acquisitions have proliferated in Africa's fintech sector in recent years, as companies fight for dominance in the growing digital payment space. Digital economy analyst Jill Lagos Shemin highlights an emerging element of this trend: alliances between mobile phone makers and payment providers and telecom operators. She explores how these partnerships can boost customer access to smartphones and digital credit, while expanding Africa's digital finance ecosystem and building tech players' footprint in this sought-after market.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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MTN Teams up With Mastercard on Mobile Wallets in Africa
Africa’s leading mobile operator MTN has partnered with payment platform Mastercard to add online payment functions to its mobile wallet for user across its fintech footprint.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa