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How Can Fintech Startups Address the Financial Inclusion Gap? Three Insights from the Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech
In 2018, over US $110 billion was invested in fintech startups – up 120% from 2017. But will this capital help deliver affordable and accessible solutions to low-income customers at scale? Chrissy Martin Meier at MIX explores why standardized data can highlight gaps in investment, surface promising companies, and more effectively measure inclusion – and how MIX's Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech advance those goals.
- Categories
- Finance
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‘Failing to Win’ as a Social Entrepreneur: A Q&A with Zoona Co-Founder Mike Quinn
Mike Quinn had no savings when he co-founded Zoona in Zambia in 2009. He also had $50,000 in student debt. During an early cash crisis, he had to ask his retired parents to mortgage their house and wire him $100,000. Yet he and his co-founders built Zoona into one of Africa’s first fintech success stories before Quinn stepped away last year. In this Q&A – the first in our series “The Untold Stories of Social Entrepreneurs” – he discusses the lessons he learned from Zoona’s successes and failures.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
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Coming Soon – Mondato Summit Africa 2020: Beyond Access – Generating Value Through Digital Inclusion
Advisory firm Mondato, in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Mozambique and the Mozambican telecoms regulator, ARECOM, will host its seventh annual digital finance and fintech executive conference, Mondato Summit Africa, in Maputo, Mozambique, on March 31st and April 1st.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Is India the Next Battleground for African Fintech Startups?
As East African fintech startups look for growth opportunities in the face of increasing competition, many are considering expanding into new countries – and India is a top target. Analysts with BFA explore why these startups' established business models and tested skills give them a solid chance to succeed – and why the Indian market nevertheless presents a formidable challenge.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Leveraging Blockchain for Good: A Q&A with Ken Weber, Head of Social Impact at Ripple
Blockchain has been sparking social innovation for years – and much of it has focused on payments. Ripple has been an innovator in this space since 2012, leveraging its blockchain-powered payment technology to enable international remittances through a network that now spans over 40 countries and six continents. In this Q&A, Ken Weber, Ripple’s Head of Social Impact discusses the company's multi-faceted efforts to "advance socially responsible and equitable uses of blockchain, cryptocurrency and related technologies.”
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- Finance, Technology
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Mastercard Left Libra Association Over Regulatory and Viability Concerns, Says CEO
Banga said there were no obvious means for the Libra Association to become profitable or make money from its users. "When you don’t understand how money gets made, it gets made in ways you don’t like," he said.
- Categories
- Finance
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Press Release: Mexico Digital Bank Stori Raises $10 Million USD and Launches Inclusive Digital Credit Card
Highly concentrated in the super-prime space, the banking industry has underserved the Mexico mass population. Only about 40% of the nearly 130 million population have bank accounts, and less than 15% of consumers have access to bank provided lending. In addition, most banks have not caught up with the digital transformation and are not able to provide a compellingly simple and good customer experience.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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MTN “Stubbornly Optimistic” Relaunched Mobile Money Will Work In South Africa
Africa's largest mobile operator has relaunched its mobile money in its home country, aiming to provide financial services to 11-million South Africans who currently don't have access to such offerings.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital finance
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