-
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
-
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
-
World Bank Calls for Unbiased Infrastructure Policy in Ethiopia
“To benefit fully from competition does not mean offering preferential treatment to Ethio Telecom but rather creating a level playing field on which it can compete fairly with its new rivals,” argued Dione.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Kenya: Women Pay More to Access Mobile Money Services
According to the report, Payments System Design and the Financial Inclusion Gender Gap, the study conducted in major towns across the country shows a strong gender bias in transaction fees, with women paying about Sh11 per peer-to-peer transaction, compared with Sh7 for men, on average.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Miga Issues $26 Million in Guarantees to Escotel Mauritius’ Solar Investment
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has issued guarantees of up to $25.6 million to Escotel Mauritius covering its investments in solar power generation in Liberia and Sierra Leone for a period of up to ten years.
- Categories
- Energy, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Press Release: DFC Approves Over $2.1 Billion in New Investments for Global Development
Projects aim to bolster energy security in Eastern Europe, trusted telecommunications networks in Africa, and the global response to COVID-19
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Investing, Telecommunications
-
Viewpoint: A Safaricom Split Is a Telco’s Dream and a Fintech Startup’s Nightmare
Talks of splitting up Kenya and East Africa’s dominant telco, Safaricom, previously gathered interest about five years ago when the Kenyan parliament stepped up calls to break the all-conquering telco into two fragments.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.