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Zimbabwe to formalize microinsurance firms
ZIMBABWE is working on a framework to regulate and formalise operations of microinsurance firms targeting low income earners, the Insurance and Pensions Commission said. Microinsurance has been identified as a critical instrument for delivering effective and efficient insurance services and products as well as promoting financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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OPINION: Investors in Africa are so focused on the poor that they are ignoring the middle class
African businesses that don’t focus on helping the poorest are being ignored by investors, according to Agosta Liko, a Kenyan entrepreneur and founder of PesaPal, a payments system for online and mobile money.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Drug ATM for South Africans
The pharmacy dispensing unit (PDU) is being piloted at Thembalethu Clinic in Johannesburg. It is a self-service machine where patients can obtain their medication.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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United Bank for Africa and MasterCard sign pan-African partnership
The United Bank for Africa (UBA) and MasterCard have signed a five year partnership agreement to issue MasterCard credit, debit and prepaid cards across 19 new markets in Africa, including Liberia. Other countries are Nigeria; Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Chad; La Cote D’Ivoire; Democratic Republic of Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Ghana; Gabon; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Mozambique; Republic of Congo; Senegal; Sierra Leone; and Uganda.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Meet The Man Championing FinTech In Africa
South African-born Dave van Niekerk is the founder and CEO of MyBucks, a fast-growing African Fintech company that successfully delivers seamless financial services to banked and ‘unbanked’ consumers alike using next-generation technological platforms.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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HIV vaccine trials take center stage at world’s largest global health conference
Hopes for a truly effective HIV vaccine were mostly the stuff of dreams in 2000, the last and only time Durban, South Africa hosted the biennial meeting of the International AIDS Society. The global HIV Vaccine Trials Network, based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and led by virologist and former Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Larry Corey, was just being organized.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mobile money giant M-Pesa is getting debit card to compete with banks
Safaricom, parent of the M-Pesa mobile money platform, is eying a piece of the $13.5 billion in annual transactions in Kenya’s payment cards industry with a new debit card. In its pilot stage, the new card, which is largely expected to challenge commercial banks for card commissions, is linked to its Lipa na M-Pesa (pay with M-Pesa) service, which enables traders and individuals to settle bills at different points of sale across the country.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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Monthly Vaginal Ring May Help Protect Against HIV
When used regularly, a medicated monthly vaginal ring may be an effective way for women in sub-Saharan Africa to protect themselves from HIV infection, according to new research.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa