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Beyond Opinion: Understanding Consumer Demand in Developing Countries: A March 7 USAID forum will showcase new techniques
Why do pro-poor technologies fail to achieve scale — even when they offer proven benefits?
Part of the problem is that we aren’t getting reliable information about what poor people actually want. And as a result, we make lots of assumptions. On March 7, USAID’s Office of Science and Technology will be showcasing some very innovative techniques for measuring consumer demand in low-income communities.- Categories
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- product design
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Quick Wins in Mobile Money: How simple usability tweaks can significantly increase mobile money usage
Mobile finance has great potential to serve the poor, but many existing services are not designed around their needs, behaviors and capabilities. New research from Grameen Foundation reveals simple usability fixes that mobile money providers could incorporate to help their products better meet the needs of the BoP, and reach scale and commercial viability.
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Is Social Enterprise the “Child Star” of the Sector?
Writing for the Poverty Matters blog at the Guardian, Deborah Doane, the former director of the World Development Movement, calls social entrepreneurs in India “the child star in an otherwise much-maligned space.”
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U.S. Senator calls for a Bitcoin ban as regulators seek ‘accelerated push’
The implosion of a once-popular Bitcoin exchange has some lawmakers calling for a ban on the virtual currency.
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Central Bank of Nigeria to extend cashless policy nationwide
The Central Bank of Nigeria Acting Governor, Dr. Sarah Alade, Wednesday said the bankers’ committee will not rescind on the plan to extend the cashless policy to other states in the country from July 1.
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- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Banks lose out as M-Pesa goes global with MoneyGram deal
Safaricom’s push to take its mobile money transfer business global has received another boost with the signing of a deal that will see users of MoneyGram send cash directly to M-Pesa customers from any part of the world.
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Mt.Gox Files For Bankruptcy Protection, Says 850,000 Bitcoin Lost
Mt.Gox has filed for bankruptcy protection and has outstanding debt of about $63.6 million, a lawyer for the Bitcoin exchange said today during a press conference at the Tokyo District Court, reports the WSJ.
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- digital payments
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Kiva Partners with Vittana to Bolster its Student Loans Program
Kiva is one of the microfinance pioneers, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses secure loans from backers who give as little as $25. The platform, which has been around since 2005, has collected over $500 million in loans from its million-strong community.
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