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Why Zuckerberg, Gates And Omidyar Are Investing in Fintech for the Poor
According to a report published in early September, Facebook is currently considering acquiring mobile money giant M-Pesa that launched in Kenya in 2007. While the news is not yet confirmed, it could be a sound deal for Facebook in terms of their presence in the sphere of online-remittances (what Facebook Messenger and other messengers are trying to develop right now) and projects like Internet.org to provide people from unbanked and emerging markets with access to digital services, which Zuckerberg has promoted a lot in the past.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, impact investing
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E-health startup Dr CADx wins Seedstars Harare
Computer-aided diagnostics startup Dr CADx was named the winner of the Seedstars World event in Harare, Zimbabwe, over the weekend, and will now proceed to the global final to pitch for up to US$1 million in funding.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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International lenders battle to keep up with Kenyan rivals as mobile borrowing turns into a craze
Six broke university students were sitting in a room at Maseno University back in 2013, discussing how best to spend their Friday night. Without money, however, their options were looking pretty limited and very dull. As they glanced down at their phones in the hopes of finding a miracle, one of the students came across a text message he had received from M-Shwari, a mobile loans product that had launched a year earlier.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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International Lenders Battle to Keep Up With Kenyan Rivals as Mobile Borrowing Turns Into a Craze
Six broke university students were sitting in a room at Maseno University back in 2013, discussing how best to spend their Friday night.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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New GSMA Study Projects Almost One Billion Mobile Subscribers India 2020
India is expected to see a significant uptake in mobile subscriptions, broadband and connectivity by 2020, marking a period of rapid development of the country’s mobile economy, according to a new GSMA Intelligence study published today. The new report, ‘The Mobile Economy: India 2016’, noted that at the end of June 2016, 616 million unique users had subscribed to mobile services in India, making it the second-largest mobile market globally, with almost one billion unique mobile subscribers1expected by 2020. India also overtook the United States in 2016 to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market with an installed base of 275 million devices.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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This Startup Wants to Get Cameroon Talking About Sex
“Many people in Africa lack access to basic information regarding sexual health because of the taboo that surrounds the topic.” That’s according to Cameroonian entrepreneur Adamou Nchange Kouotou, founder of Africa Health Initiative – the creator of Kalanda app.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Chemonics and BanQu Partner to Test Blockchain’s Potential to Eliminate Poverty and Improve Aid Effectiveness
On October 17, 2016, international development consulting firm Chemonics and technology company BanQu established the Blockchain for Development Solutions Lab. The lab represents the first concerted effort by a development company to build, test, and scale blockchain solutions to reduce poverty and increase aid effectiveness.
- Categories
- Technology
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Is Uganda’s Matibabu Africa’s next big e-health innovation?
Africa is increasingly gaining a reputation in the e-health space, thanks to the innovatives solutions developed by the likes of LifeQ, Vula Mobile and hearScreen. A young Ugandan, Makerere University graduate Brian Gitta, may well have the next one on his hands. His company, thinkIT, has developed Matibabu, a non-invasive device used to test for malaria, with smartphones used for diagnosis.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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