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A $7 Smartphone is Launching in India Tomorrow
An Indian handset maker is ready to launch the country's cheapest smartphone under Rs 500 ($7), which could be a game changer in one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets. Called Freedom 251, it has been manufactured by a homegrown company, Ringing Bells.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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What a Bank’s Foundation Is Doing to Push Financial Inclusion in India and Beyond
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on the Citi Foundation’s financial inclusion work, but rest assured that this funding is still going strong. Citi is one of the top driving financial inclusion forces in corporate philanthropy, splitting support among North America, Latin America, Asia/Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Vodafone Wallet & PayPal Ink Payments Partnership
The partnership will enable PayPal customers to link their accounts to Vodafone Wallet, allowing them to use Android smartphones to make contactless payments. According to PayPal’s European CEO, this marks the first time PayPal users will be able to make contactless payments.
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- Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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India’s Paytm Is Raising Another $400M to Build Out Its New Payment Bank
Alibaba-backed Paytm, one of the bigger e-commerce startups competing against Amazon in India, is raising money again, just months after a reported $680 million round. Sources close to the company say that Paytm is now looking to raise $400 million by June to help with the launch of Paytm’s new payments business, Paytm Payment Bank.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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WorldRemit Raises $45M to Tackle $600B Market
Remittances start-up WorldRemit has raised $45 million in debt to help it tap the business of using mobile wallets to send money across emerging markets.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, remittances
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Viewpoint: Gene Drives Need Global Policing
Medical and biological research is being transformed by a powerful new form of genetic editing, known by the acronym Crispr. Based on a naturally-occurring system in bacteria, Crispr enables scientists to precisely alter the genetic code of any organism they can lay their hands on – humans included.
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- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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African Equity Crowdfunding Portal Launches Call for Applications
Impact-focused equity crowdfunding portal Malaik has launched a call for applications to African entrepreneurs with impact focused businesses, aiming to help connect businesses with investors.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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This Solar Innovation by a Swedish Artist Uses Surprisingly Simple Technology to Save Lives
Petra Wadström, a Swedish designer and artist now in her 60s, doesn’t have an engineering background. Back in 2005, when she came up with the idea for Solvatten—a piece of equipment that makes contaminated water safe to drink—she also didn’t know much about solar power.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care, Technology
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