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Metlife launches their i3 program in Bangladesh
Regional Director for Asia at MicroSave Manoj K Sharma said: “Although the mobile financial services in Bangladesh have been very successful, it is time to build upon this success story and translate it into a larger play around financial inclusion.”
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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World Bank evaluates Somalia’s vibrant mobile money market
Somalia’s economy is projected to grow at an annual rate of 3-4%, according to the third Somalia Economic Update compiled by the World Bank.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech
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From Financial Inclusion to Employment: Four Ways Superplatforms Will Shape Africa’s Future
Perhaps surprisingly, young people in sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income countries haven't embraced digital payments to the extent of their older peers. But that may be changing as "superplatforms" like Alibaba and Facebook – which can leverage their data and tech capabilities over multiple sectors – emerge in the region. David Porteous and Amolo Ng’weno of BFA and Olga Morawcynski of Mastercard Foundation discuss four ways these tech platforms will shape youth employment, financial inclusion, digital identity and other fields.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Fintech Predicted to Contribute $150 Billion to Africa’s GDP by 2022
“If you look at the value chain, most of that money is coming out of mobile-phone companies,” Osano said. “So from the other support services the contribution is not much, but is expected to increase as fintech develops to address the financial needs of people or making services more accessible.”
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press release: FINCA Impact Finance and KfW Announce USD 8.5 Million Subordinated Loan Facility for Democratic Republic of Congo
FINCA Impact Finance is furthering its strategy of diversifying its sources of funding to pursue digital transformation and promote financial inclusion through mobilizing deposits and local currency debt funding. In the past year, it has attracted worldwide attention and interest from the investment community after issuing bond offerings in its subsidiaries in Pakistan, Nicaragua and Armenia, allowing greater flexibility to manage foreign exchange and geographic risks.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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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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