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Inclusive Innovation: How Two Mobile Technology Startups are Changing the Game in Microfinance
Securing a bank loan is an onerous task for anyone. But for the 2.5 billion unbanked people worldwide, the obstacles can seem insurmountable. And microfinance and village savings groups both have significant limitations, particularly for people without a credit history. June Sugiyama of Vodafone Americas Foundation explains how two winners of the foundation's annual Wireless Innovation Project competition are overcoming these limitations through mobile technology.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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The Superplatforms are Coming … And They Will Transform Financial Inclusion
With their big brands, big budgets and big data, superplatforms like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Alibaba already know more about most banks’ customers than the banks themselves. As these internet giants make increasing inroads into financial services, what are the implications for low-income customers – and their existing providers? David Porteous of BFA and Olga Morawcynski of MasterCard Foundation explore how these platforms are reshaping the face of financial inclusion around the world.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Tags
- data, financial inclusion, fintech
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East Africa region slips in financial inclusion
Globally, Uganda and Kenya have dropped sharply among the 55 surveyed countries, the report shows.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How the Blockchain Brings Social Benefits to Emerging Economies
The technology promises to speed up and reduce the cost of transactions, and boost financial inclusion by providing more opportunities to farmers.
- Categories
- Technology
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A Roadmap to Food Security: Linking Geodata with Financial Inclusion to Support Smallholders
Smallholder farmers produce a staggering 70 percent of the world’s food, making them essential to food security. Geodata applications have been shown to improve these farmers’ yields and even boost their financial access – one of the main obstacles to increasing production. To help tap into these benefits, NpM’s Innovator’s Challenge brought together 17 tech companies with geodata-based solutions for smallholder financial inclusion. NpM director Josien Sluijs discusses the winning companies, and the broader potential of geodata-based innovation.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Airtel is banking on its 40 million subscribers to operate the largest and secure mobile money platform in Nigeria
Airtel says it is banking on it over 40 million customers and its retail footprint across major regions in Nigeria to drive financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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First GSMA Mobile Money Certification Achieved in Latin America
"We are honoured to receive this certification, after 10 years working to promote financial inclusion, transforming lives and deploying digital highways for millions of Paraguayans, who already are beginning to enjoy the new digital economy,” said Ramiro Pascual, CEO of Tigo Paraguay.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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Boycott Myanmar: An Open Letter to the Microfinance Community
In response to global events, microfinance has quickly ramped up its focus on refugees. But when those refugees are the Rohingya – the Muslim minority being expelled from Myanmar (and the world’s latest victims of genocide) – this new focus raises some difficult questions, says Daniel Rozas. Why isn’t anyone in the sector talking about the unspeakable atrocities being conducted and condoned in one of the fastest-growing microfinance markets in the world? “There is no way around it: When we work in Myanmar, we are complicit in ethnic cleansing,” Rozas says, in a bold call for a country-wide boycott.
- Categories
- Finance
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