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Viewpoint: Investing in Digital Agriculture Can Help Africa Beat This Pandemic
We need to bridge Africa's data gap to strengthen food, health and economic security, and overcome a predicted continent-wide recession
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Overthrowing the King: Could Central Bank Digital Currencies Replace Cash in Post-COVID-19 Africa?
Despite advances in digital technology, cash has remained the undisputed king of payments in sub-Saharan Africa. However, as Michaella Allen and Christine Hougaard at Cenfri explain, COVID-19 has placed a stigma on cash and led governments across the region to actively encourage digital payments. They explore the implications of this shift, and whether it could make central bank digital currencies a viable alternative.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Coronavirus Has Upended Payments and Fintech Investing
The payments industry has been in a state of disruption for years, with new technology, greater flexibility and customer experience improvements defining the past decade of innovation. The COVID-19 pandemic all but guarantees an accelerated adoption of new payments technology, both online and in physical stores, but the trajectory of new solutions is going to pivot according to the new pandemic reality. Over the next few years, we’re going to see fintech investments evolve accordingly.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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The Impact of COVID-19 as Seen in Solar Payment Data – and How One Off-Grid Energy Company is Responding
Since COVID-19 began, the energy company Bboxx has been monitoring payment trends among its 250,000+ pay-as-you-go solar customers in 12 emerging markets. Analysts at Bboxx assess the data from four African countries, exploring what it says about the pandemic's impact on solar electricity users – and about how to support these customers during the crisis.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Energy
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African Startups Can Apply for 2nd Edition of Inclusive Fintech 50
Applications have opened for the second edition of the Inclusive Fintech 50, which will identify 50 high-potential, early-stage and innovative fintech startups driving financial inclusion and resilience for the three billion financially underserved people worldwide.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Tags
- banking, digital payments, fintech, IFC, LMICs, MetLife Foundation, Visa
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Fintech Adoption: Mobile, Digital, and Contactless Payments Increasingly Being Used in Indonesia Due to COVID-19
The COVID-19 outbreak has created significant socio-economic challenges, which have impacted individuals and businesses across the globe. More people are now spending time at home due to government-enforced nationwide lockdowns.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Entrepreneurship, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Bangladesh Faces a Crisis in Remittances Amid COVID-19
The economic importance of the more than 10 million migrants from Bangladesh who sent close to $18 billion in 2019 cannot be overstated. International remittances normally represent around 7% of Bangladesh’s GDP. But the COVID-19 pandemic is having an acute effect on Bangladeshi migrants abroad, who are largely concentrated in countries with strict lockdown measures. Considering the large volume of Bangladeshi migrants in the Middle East, secondary economic impacts through depressed demand and falling oil prices will also likely add strain to the flow of remittances.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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A New Test for Old Technology: How COVID-19 is Sparking Innovation in PayGo Financing for Biodigesters
Biodigesters transform animal manure into high-quality fertilizer and biogas, replacing the need for wood-burning cooking stoves – and PayGo financing enables smallholders to afford them. But as Laura Harwig at Feed the Future explains, COVID-19 has made it harder for farmers to make their payments. She explores how the biodigester company ATEC* has adapted its PayGo model to help farmers weather these challenges.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Technology
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