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Outdated but Not Obsolete: Why USSD Is Still Key to Driving Digital Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa
As of late 2019, mobile internet adoption stood at just 26% across sub-Saharan Africa, and internet access remains expensive and unreliable even for people who can afford a smartphone. In light of that reality, Wole Olayinka of insiderPR argues that digital inclusion efforts should embrace USSD, a communications protocol that connects feature phone users to basic digital services even without internet access. He explores the advantages and downsides of this outdated – but surprisingly flexible – technology.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
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COVID-19 and Higher Education: How Universities in Emerging Economies Are Responding to the Crisis
Universities in emerging economies are playing a key role in the response to the coronavirus crisis through cutting-edge research and development (R&D) and pioneering approaches to learning.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education
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How Coronavirus Is Impacting Digital Payments in Emerging Markets
Digital payments have been growing rapidly in emerging markets over the last ten years or so, since the establishment of MPESA in Kenya in 2007, writes Pavel Matveev, CEO of Wirex. MPESA relies on 120,000 retail agents who take in and dispense cash to users around the country, and in 2017, MPESA processed 1.7 billion payments […]
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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Viewpoint: Yes, There Are Growth Investment Opportunities During Market Volatility
While equities, credit and interest rates race toward a recession, long-term investors have a compelling entry point into the businesses reshaping the global economy.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Financial Inclusion Will Be Vital in a Post-Pandemic World
The world will never be the same as Covid-19 has created a springboard for the fourth industrial revolution
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education, Finance
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Can COVID-19 Catalyze Vietnam’s Digital Transformation?
Many of Vietnam’s swift and effective public health responses have been enabled by information technology.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Viewpoint: Unlocking the Untapped Opportunity in Asia Through Impact Investing
There is a huge, untapped market opportunity in Asia, driven by under-served populations, with income levels of the poor in Asia expected to increase significantly over the next decade.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Digital Platforms for ‘Gig Economy’ Workers: An Intriguing Model Gains Traction in Africa
The government of Senegal has been working diligently to foster high-tech innovation in its economy – but there's one area in particular need of a digital upgrade. Researchers Jessica Wallach and Jill Lagos Shemin explore why the greatest potential impact of the digital revolution in Senegal may involve helping informal workers in the "gig economy" leverage digital platforms to find work.
- Categories
- Technology
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