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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
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Press Release: Mobile Money Adoption Within IDP Camps in Somalia Provides Unlikely Blueprint for Navigating COVID Pandemic
Internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps are relying upon Somalia’s intricate mobile money infrastructure to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Accelerating the adoption of mobile money by IDPs across Somalia has been shown to be effective in mitigating the risk of the COVID-19 spreading while providing rapid fund delivery.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Digital Access Matters: The Benefits of Bringing High-Speed Internet To Low-Income Communities During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has led people around the world to work and shop from home – but as Dirk-Jan Koeman and Kara Ing at Poa Internet point out, this is easier for some than others. For instance, in densely-populated urban areas in Kenya, the lack of high-speed internet makes working from home almost impossible. They discuss how Poa is bringing these households online, and share research on how these newly connected customers are using the internet.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Social Enterprise, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation
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A Phone Can Only Do So Much: Why Mobile Access Isn’t Leading To Digital Financial Service Usage Among Women in India
India has made significant progress in financial inclusion in recent years. However low-income working women are not benefiting from this momentum, even when they receive their wages digitally. To better understand why, BSR’s HERproject and MSC have researched the financial behaviors of female garment workers in India. Akhand Tiwari at MSC and James Steady at BSR explore the results, and discuss how the financial inclusion sector should respond.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Telecommunications
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Cameroon’s Plan To Make Users Pay Import Duties on Mobile Devices Has Sparked Outrage
A new automated system for the collection of customs duties and taxes on imported phones and other electronic devices in Cameroon is not being welcomed.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Uganda Posts Growth in Mobile Money Accounts During Pandemic, Mobile Subscribers Shrink
The growth to 25.9 million accounts was, however, smaller than what had been seen in the first quarter.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Zimbabwe’s Restrictions on Mobile Money Transfers Are a Blow To Financial Inclusion
Mobile financial services are, in most African countries, born out of crises.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MTN and Airtel Uganda Suspend Mobile Money Services After Massive Hack
Telecom giants, MTN and Airtel Uganda have temporarily suspended all mobile money service transactions between their networks after unidentified hackers compromised their systems.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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