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Sagicor, Digicel and Mastercard launch new prepaid card, MyCash, in Jamaica
Christopher Zacca, President and CEO of Sagicor Group Jamaica, noted that the partnership with Digicel Group (through its subsidiary Prism Services Jamaica) and Mastercard is a game-changer for the Jamaican market with the development of the MyCash product.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North America
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African microlender OKash integrates facial recognition to prevent fraud
A recent report by Financial Sector Deepening suggests that 73 percent of Kenyans have a mobile money account, and the country has one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies, according to TUKO, but mobile money fraud has become a widespread problem.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Seeking a Happy Ending: Will Nigeria’s New and Improved Financial Inclusion Strategy Work Better Than the Last One?
Nigeria's Central Bank has finally admitted something it had been hinting at for months: The 2020 goals described in its National Financial Inclusion Strategy are not feasible. Building off the wins and learning from the shortcomings of that strategy, the country is now setting new goals and targeting new gains in financial access. Olayinka David-West and Ibukun Taiwo of the Lagos Business School share their five recommendations for the next phase in Nigeria’s efforts to reach the unbanked.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
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Fighting ‘Tech Complacency’ in Social Enterprise: Why it’s Time to Embrace Blockchain
All around us, Fortune 500 firms and VCs are embracing disruptive innovation – so why aren't more social entrepreneurs following suit? Gautam Ivatury, founder and CEO of LendLedger, says the time has come for the social sector to take some risks and get out of its comfort zone – instead of simply waiting for technologies to filter down to its target beneficiaries. With blockchain, he says, social entrepreneurs "can redraw how industries work, not just create the latest in an endless series of mission-driven service providers."
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Could religious institutions be major drivers of financial inclusion? This new report seems to suggest so
Nigeria is a largely religious society and one where citizens depend on religious social structures, it is not surprising that the study seems to suggest such an approach.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Chinese e-commerce giant to begin services in Pakistan this year
At the moment, Ant Financial is undergoing an approval process from the State Bank of Pakistan and the Competition Commission of Pakistan.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- South Asia
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Why ‘Chat Banking’ is the Future of Financial Services in Africa
WhatsApp alone reports that users send 65 billion messages per day. Yet, despite the continued growth of messaging apps and changing user behavior, very little has been done to integrate financial services into the messaging experience. Sidharth Garg, founder and CEO of Teller, recently returned from East Africa, where he researched user behavior as it relates to mobile money, mobile phone use and communication preferences. He sees a vast opportunity in integrating banking, payments and mobile money features into messaging apps. He thinks now is the time to invest in those integrating technologies, and that Africa may be the place.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech
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China’s payments giant is ready to boost financial inclusion in Africa
The cooperation, announced in Addis Ababa last week, is pegged to both the 2030 global sustainable development goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2060, which seeks to end poverty and improve lives through economic, social, and technological progress.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa