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Report: Over 500 Million Mobile-Money Users Expected in Africa in 2020
With 50 million new accounts created on the continent in 2019 and a 12% increase in registered users, Africa is by far the leading continent for mobile-money services. However, growth is uneven from one region to another.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Safaricom, Vodacom Acquire M-PESA Payments Platform
“Our joint venture will allow Vodacom and Safaricom to drive the next generation of the M-PESA platform, an intelligent, cloud-based platform for the smartphone age. It will also help us to promote greater financial inclusion and help bridge the digital divide within the communities in which we operate.”
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Reducing the Costs of Migration: How Better Data Can Lead to Better Policy – and Better Prices – in Migrant Remittances
International migration has become a pressing global issue, and one that's likely to grow in the coming years. One way to help economies absorb migrants with minimal disruption is to improve their access to affordable, formal cross-border remittances. But according to Damola Owolade at FinMark Trust, this goal may be easier said than done, as accurate data on remittance pricing can be surprisingly hard to acquire.
- Categories
- Finance
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From the Valley of Death to a $14 Million Series A: Sokowatch, Quona and the Role of Philanthropic Capital
The e-commerce company Sokowatch recently raised a $14 million Series A round, enabling it to expand its digital financial services to more merchants in Africa. But just two years ago, the company was in danger of going under. Malika Anand and Maelis Carraro at BFA’s Catalyst Fund discuss how the fund's philanthropically-funded acceleration approach has helped Sokowatch – and other promising fintech startups – survive the “valley of death” and position themselves for commercial investment.
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When Digital Payment Waves Lead to ‘Unbanking’
Ironically, fintechs and cashless payment technologies who promise to ensure financial inclusion often achieve the opposite results.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Press Release: GSMA Report Highlights That Mobile Money Accounts Now Exceed One Billion Worldwide
The GSMA yesterday unveiled the annual ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money’, offering a view of the mobile money landscape and highlighting the impact that greater financial inclusion has on lives, economies and innovation, especially in emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance
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Financial Health and the Coronavirus: Another Failure to Prepare
Even before the coronavirus crisis, global financial health was surprisingly precarious, with many people unprepared to weather a significant financial shock. As Elisabeth Rhyne points out, this issue is becoming painfully clear now that the pandemic is causing mass disruptions in income and employment. She explores the lasting consequences this will have, and calls on policymakers to provide relief now – and to make financial health an urgent priority going forward.
- Categories
- Finance
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Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Push Africa’s Mobile Money Markets to the Next Level?
Kenya is arguably the world's top mobile money market, and one reason for its success is that a “trigger” event – the post-election violence of 2008 – forced the rapid, large-scale adoption of mobile payment services. Jill Lagos Shemin explores how the unique demands of the coronavirus pandemic could prove to be a similar catalyst for mobile money growth in other countries, and how providers and other stakeholders can build upon this momentum to create more inclusive digital ecosystems for underserved customers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Technology
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