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Proparco Invests US $20 Million in Frogfoot, Vox and Hypa to Expand Affordable Fibre Connectivity in South Africa
A key focus of the companies’ growth strategy is the expansion of fibre networks into lower-income and township communities.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Reimagining the Digital Architecture of Global Development: How Big Tech Can Bring the Sector into the Modern Age
The global development sector has grown into a sprawling ecosystem, including powerful multilaterals and millions of community-level NGOs worldwide. In the process, as social innovation advisor Rajat Ray explains, it has repeatedly reinvented its tools and techniques to handle the growing scale and depth of its work. But he argues that the reductions in traditional aid, the growing strain of modern operational demands and the emergence of advanced technologies like AI have brought the sector to a defining inflection point. He explores how its legacy tools and processes are falling short, and calls for a complete reimagining of the digital architecture that underpins global development, driven by multilateral leaders and Big Tech.
- Categories
- Technology
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US Agency to Invest $155 Million in African Digital Infrastructure Firm WIOCC
Washington has increasingly backed telecommunications and digital infrastructure projects in Africa as it seeks to provide alternatives to Chinese technology providers like Huawei, including through a $100 million loan to U.S.-owned telecoms operator Africell.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Report: GSMA Warns of Growing AI Divide as Smartphone Costs Rise in Emerging Markets
The report highlights a growing threat to digital inclusion: a sharp increase in the cost of smartphone memory and chipsets, driven by global demand for AI infrastructure and data centres.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NADF, German Firm Partner on Climate-Resilient Agricultural Finance
"The partnership is also expected to support the development of new or improved financial products for smallholder farmers, particularly those designed around the growing risks posed by climate change to agricultural production."
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Gates Foundation Commits US$1 Billion to Help Build and Deliver Equitable AI That Improves Health and Expands Opportunity
New Goalkeepers Report: AI could be a great equalizer, but only if it’s built intentionally to benefit the people who need it most.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: World Bank Group Launches Initiative to Help Local Financial Institutions Expand Digital Payments in Emerging Markets
". . . the initiative is expected to increase competition and improve the quality and accessibility of payment services."
- Region
- Global
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Mastercard Launches Wallet Pay to Scale Digital Wallets Worldwide
Harnessing the industry’s most advanced capabilities, Mastercard Wallet Pay solutions empower wallet providers to deliver frictionless experiences — from everyday spending to cross-border transfers – meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding digital economy.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Global
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