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Is India approaching a perfect storm in digital financial services?
In the use of digital technologies, financial services in India lag behind other sectors. But a perfect storm may soon come and enable technology-led disruption at a far greater scale.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Can Innovation Help the Poor Escape from Payday Lenders? Ford Thinks So
The Ford Foundation has been working to close the racial wealth gap for over two decades, a gap much in the news these days, and one part of that effort has been to help "unbanked" low-income people escape from the shady world of payday lending and worse, and access the financial services that middle-class people take for granted. To that end, Ford recently gave $1 million dollars to the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) to continue its work on building financial tools for the underserved.
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Will Africa’s Mobile Money Revolution Take Hold?
When mobile network operator (MNO) Safaricom launched its M-Pesa mobile payments system in Kenya seven years ago, few business models were as ripe to explode. With extremely high mobile penetration rates, a high proportion of unbanked households, a regulatory system that allowed telecoms companies rather than banks to lead the way, and a migrant population suffering from expensive domestic remittances, it is little wonder that more than two-thirds of Kenyan adults use the service today.
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- Uncategorized
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zimbabwe Government Moves to Lower Money Transfer Charges and Broadband Prices
It looks like we are headed towards cheaper mobile money services and lower broadband prices if the State’s word is anything to go by.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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- public policy
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Three BoP Business Portfolios: Progress across three portfolios supporting 160 companies
Caroline Ashley evaluates three base of the pyramid investment portfolios: The Business Innovation Facility pilot (2010-2013), Innovations Against Poverty pilot (2011-2013) and Business Call to Action (five years old and ongoing). The data is based on years of rich engagement with three contrasting portfolios, each with an exciting - but different - array of innovative businesses.
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Three Key Steps for Boosting Mobile Money in Nigeria: Grameen Foundation explores ways the struggling sector could reach its potential
As the largest of Africa’s fast-growing economies, Nigeria is a promising market for mobile finance. Yet though almost 57 percent of Nigerian adults have no access to formal financial services, only 0.1 percent actively use mobile money. Grameen Foundation explores the reasons for the stunted growth of mobile services, and outlines some key steps that could increase their adoption and continued use.
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State Bank of India to Provide Mobile Financial Services to Underserved
Amdocs, a provider of customer experience products, today announced the selection of its mobile financial services product in association with Triotech's product, which will enable State Bank of India to offer mobile financial services to India's unbanked and underbanked population, using the mobile network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. The solution will be delivered under a five-year services contract, according to a press release.
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- Uncategorized
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- South Asia
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Khosla Labs & Unitus Seed Fund to Incubate and Back Up to Six Aadhaar-Based Startups
Bangalore-based startup incubator Khosla Labs has partnered with seed-stage impact investor Unitus Seed Fund to incubate and fund four-six startups working on the Unique Identification Authority of India (Aadhaar) project.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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