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DBJ pilots mobile solution to microfinancing
In a bid to reduce loan costs for small-scale commercial borrowers, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is piloting a mobile money product that was given the green light by the Bank of Jamaica mid-year.
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- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- microfinance
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Innovating The Process Of Getting Technology To People Who Need It
Having technology that will change the lives of people in the developing world doesn’t mean much if you can’t get it to them. To fix that, Essmart Global is trying to revolutionize distribution and supply chains.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Poor women to get mobile feeds on their financial info
Poor women in Andhra Pradesh could soon get access to their financial transactions on mobile.About 90 lakh women members of self help Groups (SHGs) in Andhra Pradesh can look forward to this facility, thanks to a mobile book-keeping project being launched by the State Government.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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Are mobile phones better than aid?
Helping people to use technology can combat poverty more effectively than centralised aid programmes according to a leading development entrepreneur.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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One billion smartphones by 2014. Bottom-of-the-pyramid market never looked better
It’s been a while since bottom of the pyramid — famously enunciated by the late management guru C.K. Prahlad — has been perceived to be an attractive market.
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- Technology
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Mobile Money: How Cell Phones Can Fight Hunger in the Sahel
Some five billion people worldwide were using mobile phones in 2010, according to the International Telecommunication Union, with the strongest growth taking place in developing countries. Africa is the fastest growing mobile market. In the past six years, the industry estimates that the number of subscribers has grown nearly 20 percent each year. At this rate, we can expect to see some 735 million cell phone users in Africa by the end of 2012.
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- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- nutrition
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Virtual City gets Sh135m loan from US social fund
Virtual City, a local software development firm, has received a Sh135 million ($1.5 million) convertible loan from Acumen Fund for the development of a mobile-based agricultural application to help small-scale farmers market their produce.The investment represents the latest capital inflows from international investors in the local information technology sector, which is emerging as a key target for venture capitalist firms.
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- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How The Future of Mobile Lies in the Developing World
In less than three decades, the mobile phone has gone from being a status symbol to being a ubiquitous technology that facilitates almost every interaction in our daily lives. One month after the world’s population topped 7 billion in October 2011, the GSM Association announced that mobile SIM cards had reached 6 billion. A 2009 study in India illustrated that every 10 percent increase in mobile penetration leads to a 1.2 percent increase in GDP.
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- Technology