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Press release: SmartPesa announces ICO for new Blockchain solution that provides secure credit scoring data for SMEs
Accounting for 90% of companies, SMEs in emerging markets act as key drivers of economic development and generate nine out of 10 jobs. But 40% of these companies lack access to credit, creating an annual funding gap of $5.2 trillion. SmartPesa Credible is built using Blockchain technology to provide credible Know Your Customer (KYC) information, self-declared business data and cash flow statistics on a transparent, distributed and auditable platform.
- Categories
- Finance
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The world’s first mobile-only government bond in Kenya is popular, but missed its target
Given mobile money is so ubiquitous in Kenya with over 27 million users—many of whom were unbanked—M-Akiba promised the government access to a new capital base.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Global fintech investors team up to promote responsible digital finance
While the opportunities have increased, so too have the risks surrounding digital financial services for investors, investees, customers and wider digital ecosystems across markets and regions.
- Categories
- Finance
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Standard Chartered Partners To Launch Mobile Wallet In Uganda
The partnership with MTN will expand the service in Africa, making it the sixth country in Africa where Straight2Bank is available.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Why Africa May – or May Not – Be the Next Major E-Commerce Market
Research firm Statista estimates that the ecommerce sector in Africa generated $16.5 billion in revenue in 2017 and forecasts revenue of $29 billion by 2022.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments
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Phone becomes a throw-in for mobile wallet app in South Africa
MyBucks, a company headquartered in Luxembourg that publicly trades in Frankfurt, was founded in 2011 to make microloans to small businesses.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Is Financial Inclusion Stalling? The 2017 Findex Results Raise Several Red Flags
The Global Financial Inclusion Database (Findex) - one of the most authoritative yardsticks on the state of financial inclusion - finds that 69 percent of the world’s adults now have bank or mobile money accounts. But while that's an exciting headline, it's also misleading, as millions of those newly opened accounts are lying dormant. And that's just one reason why industry stakeholders have found the latest Findex data underwhelming. Elisabeth Rhyne and Sonja Kelly at the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion unpack some of the troubling stats – and highlight a few bright spots.
- Categories
- Finance
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Almost half of the world’s population still doesn’t use a bank account
The World Bank recently released data on the state of global financial inclusion, and the results are eye-opening.
- Categories
- Finance
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