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Pakistan’s Central Bank Calls India’s Cash War ‘Extreme’
Pakistan’s central bank Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra called India’s shock clampdown on cash an “extreme” step to boost financial inclusion, tax collection and battle graft, as the neighboring nation implements its own plans to double the number of people using banks within four years.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Orange announces the winners of the sixth edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize for Africa and the Middle East
Orange has announced the winners of the 2016 Orange Social Venture Prize for Africa and the Middle East during the AfricaCom Awards ceremony held in Cape Town, South Africa, last night. The prize, which aims to encourage start-ups in Africa to launch innovative projects that promote development, has been extended this year to the Middle East. A new award, the Special Prize for Cultural Content, has also been introduced.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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New GSMA Report Sees Rise in Mobile Broadband and Smartphone Adoption Across Middle East and North Africa
Mobile broadband networks will account for 61 per cent of mobile connections by 2020, up from 41 per cent today, across the diverse Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to a new GSMA report published today at the GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Middle East conference in Dubai. The new study, ‘The Mobile Economy – Middle East and North Africa 2016’, highlights that there are currently 339 million unique mobile subscribers (Q2 2016) across the region’s twenty five markets1, a figure expected to rise to 385 million by 20202. The number of smartphone connections3 has also more than doubled over the last three years to reach 263 million in Q2 2016, accounting for 42 per cent of total connections, and is forecast to reach 467 million by 2020. The availability of mobile broadband networks has increased smartphone adoption and is helping to bridge the digital divide and usher in innovative new mobile services.
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- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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State Bank of Pakistan Aims for 50 Percent Financial Inclusion by 2020
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Deputy Governor Saeed Ahmed said that the central bank was pursuing a three-pronged strategy (3PS) to achieve the goal of 50 percent financial inclusion by the year 2020.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Report: Islamic Finance Will Shoot Up to $6.5 Trillion by 2020
The Global Islamic Financial system is multiplying on a fast track basis, and will touch $6.5 trillion by 2020. This is projected by the International Financial Service Board. The volume expanded from a meager $150 billion in 1990 to $ 1.8 trillion in 2015, the board reported.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- Islamic finance, lending
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Visa to Offer Debit Cards to Millions of Micro Financial Users in Pakistan
Mobile Financial Service, JazzCash, which is a collaboration of Mobilink and Mobilink Microfinance Bank, has entered into a partnership with global payments technology company, Visa, to offer Visa debit cards to consumers.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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This Startup is Fixing Health Care…in Kabul
Aschkan Abdul-Malek had come to Afghanistan to solve problems. He was working for a consulting firm, and in 2013 was helping the World Bank study healthcare constraints in developing countries. One day, as he was home talking to his cook, he learned how personally devastating the healthcare problem could be: The cook was spending six times his annual income to fly his wife to India for medical care, because she couldn’t find the doctor she needed at home.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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World’s First Islamic Endowment Crowdfunding Platform Launched
Tun Abdullah Badawi, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, has launched the Waqf (Islamic Endowment) crowdfunding platform or WaqfWorld. Described as the “worlds first” the new platform was announced at the 12th World Islamic Economic Foundation Forum (WIEF) held in Jakarta this past week The platform was developed in partnership with EthisVentures.com.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
- Tags
- crowdfunding, philanthropy
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