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Mexican Banks Using Mobile Payments Technology to Enable Digital Transactions at Mom-and-Pop Stores
In a bid to increase card payments and financial inclusion, Mexican banks are collaborating with mobile payments technology vendors to deploy mPOS solutions at mom-and-pop stores. The Mexican government encourages these initiatives, as around 70 percent of all purchases in Mexico are made with cash and the informal economy represents 30 percent of GDP.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
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Will These 5 Models of Crowdfunding Replace Angel and VC Investors?
Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. According to articles on Entrepreneur last year, there are now almost 1,000 crowdfunding platforms in existence, currently estimated to add more than $65 billion and 270,000 jobs to the economy.
- Categories
- Investing
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Nandan Nilekani Plans Tech Project ‘Ek Step’ to Hone Children’s Basic Skills
Infosys co-founder and billionaire Nandan Nilekani, who spearheaded the country's massive unique identification project, is gearing up for an equally ambitious project - to help elementary school children across the country improve their reading and arithmetic skills using low-end tablets and smartphones.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Greener sex? Condoms Now Come in a Spectrum of Earth-Friendly Tones
From irritating chemicals to a troubled supply chain, condoms haven’t always been the kindest to the earth, or our bodies. Here are three companies trying to change that.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Grameen Bank Goes Under Full State Control Today
With the tenure of the nine elected female board members having expired today, Nobel winning micro-credit organisation Grameen Bank will now be run by government-appointed board members.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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DAI, Souktel, and MFO Launch Mobile Financial Education Services with Facebook’s Internet.org
In low-income countries, good information about personal budgeting and saving is hard to find. Many people have limited schooling and little familiarity with financial institutions. Financial education efforts at the local level—often constrained by inadequate staff resources and transportation challenges—tend to be one-time events accessible only to a small slice of the population. Getting the information you need at the moment you need it is nearly impossible.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Sustainable Cattle in Kenya Pay Off
For thousands of years the pastoralist communities of northern Kenya have herded their cattle alongside elephants and zebras, the grass of the rangelands shared between livestock and wildlife in relative balance. In recent decades, climate change, habitat loss, and human population growth have combined to erode that balance, leading to overgrazing and the degradation of the grasslands that both humans and wildlife need to survive.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing
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Startup Accelerator Scholas.Labs Announced by Pope Francis
Startup accelerator Scholas.Labs was announced last week during an education event hosted by Pope Francis. Although one hardly expects to hear “startup accelerator” and “pontiff” in the same sentence, this enterprise is quite real and is aimed at assisting education projects all over the world.
- Categories
- Education
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