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IKEA aims to take 200,000 people out of poverty in massive social sustainability drive
IKEA is to open production centres in refugee camps in Jordan this summer as part of a long-term plan to create employment for 200,000 disadvantaged people around the world through social entrepreneurship programmes.
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- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- employment, manufacturing, refugees
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India’s attempt to go cashless is turning food vouchers digital
India's push for a digital, cashless society is well-documented by now. After last year's currency ban, the country has pushed cashless transactions in every sphere of citizen life — from payments at the local grocer and refuels at gas stations to utility bill payments and more.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Tanzania: 47% of GDP Transferred in Mobile Money Revolution
When Vodacom introduced the mobile money transfer service, M-Pesa, in 2008 financial inclusion in the country was below 16 per cent. Only eight years later, financial inclusion increased fivefold to reach 86 per cent putting Tanzania well ahead of most Sub-Saharan African countries.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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New RBI plan could bring bad news for m-wallets like Paytm and Mobikwik
Mobile wallet company executives last week expressed their concerns to Reserve Bank of India officials over the proposed guidelines for the sector, in their formal feedback to the regulator on them. RBI had issued draft guidelines for prepaid payment instrument (PPI) licence holders in March and several had flagged issues such as know your customer (KYC) norms.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments
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How to Pull Water Out of Thin Air, Even in the Driest Parts of the Globe
Scientists have developed a device that can suck water out of desert skies, powered by sunlight alone. They hope that a version of the technology could eventually supply clean drinking water in some the driest and poorest parts of the globe.
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- Technology
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Amazon India gets RBI nod for mobile wallet
Online marketplace Amazon India has secured a licence to operate pre-paid payment instrument (PPI) or mobile wallet in the country as it tries to compete more aggressively against rivals Snapdeal and Paytm.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments
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Viewpoint: The end of money
On November 8, 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the biggest financial experiment in the nation’s history. In a televised announcement, Modi gave his citizens just four hours’ notice of his controversial ruling: that virtually all the nation’s cash would be immediately taken out of circulation. All 500 and 1,000 rupee notes were instantaneously declared worthless, and the Indian population were given just 50 days to deposit their newly voided notes in their bank accounts.
- Categories
- Technology
- Tags
- fintech
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M-Pesa’s Quiet Mobile Revolution 10 Years In
In the developed world, particularly in the United States, mobile payments have entered the scene with a lot of fanfare and great expectations — but haven’t delivered all that much in the way of impressive results. As of the last PYMNTS/InfoScout report on in-store mobile wallet usage, and particularly for the longest running general purpose mobile wallet in the market, Apple Pay, 19 out of 20 users who could use a mobile wallet don’t. It seems when it comes time to pay the piper in the store, consumers in the U.S. and Western Europe still kind of like their cards.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa