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Worldfirst to Expand Digital E-Commerce Solutions for Southeast Asian SMEs
WorldFirst’s innovative product, facilitated through the World Account, caters to SMEs across Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital finance, e-commerce, fintech, MSMEs
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How Fintech is Enabling Progress Toward the SDGs — And Why it’s Time for Investors to Double Down
Due to high interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges, there's been a global slowdown in venture capital funding to tech firms. David Grimaud at Bamboo Capital Partners explains how this lack of investment is impacting fintech companies in emerging markets, putting not only financial inclusion but other development priorities at risk. He explores how fintech innovators are advancing multiple SDGs, and how the investment community — especially impact-focused investors — can better support them.
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Kenyan Businesses Are Dropping the World’s Favorite Mobile Money Service
The shift by businesses away from M-Pesa payments is a remarkable turn in a country known for pioneering mobile money, and where the service is ubiquitous.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Asian Development Bank Provides $300 Million Loan to Boost Filipino Financial Inclusion
ADB’s Inclusive Finance Development Program, Subprogram 3, champions reforms that amplify financial inclusivity in the Philippines.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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IFC Invests $50 Million in New LeapFrog Fund to Bolster Health, Financial Services Businesses in Africa
The latest fund will focus on growing businesses in healthcare and financial services by helping companies adopt digital solutions and offer new products that can reach underserved segments of the population.
- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Health Care, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A $200 Billion Opportunity: What Payment Data Shows About the Rise of Africa’s Digital Economy
Africa’s digital economy is growing rapidly, and according to Agosta Liko at Pesapal, businesses, financial institutions and governments could add US $200 billion to the continent’s GDP in the next six years by supporting that growth. He shares payment data that highlights how, and where, digital transactions are happening in Africa — both online and in person — and explores what that means for the digital economy’s growth prospects in the region.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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In Pursuit of a Cashless Africa: Learning from Nigeria’s Struggle to Accelerate its Transition to Digital Finance
The use of cash for payments is dwindling globally, while the electronic payments industry is burgeoning. As Osahon Akpata at Ecobank points out, this growth is also happening in Africa, though cash still remains king. He highlights several factors that are driving both the growth of digital finance and the ongoing usage of cash on the continent, exploring how African countries can accelerate their transition to a cashless economy — and what they can learn from Nigeria's struggles in that area.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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Understanding Digital Public Infrastructure: What it Means — and Why it Matters — to Businesses and Governments in Emerging Markets
In recent months, there has been an outpouring of media coverage and analysis on the topic of digital public infrastructure (DPI). David Porteous, Priya Vora, Ravi Shankar Chaturvedi and Peter Rabley explore the ongoing efforts to develop a shared understanding of what DPI means, and how it can impact global digital development. They urge DPI stakeholders to look beyond narrow, government-centered use cases and existing digital systems to envision next-generation applications based on public and private sector collaboration.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology