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Fighting ‘Tech Complacency’ in Social Enterprise: Why it’s Time to Embrace Blockchain
All around us, Fortune 500 firms and VCs are embracing disruptive innovation – so why aren't more social entrepreneurs following suit? Gautam Ivatury, founder and CEO of LendLedger, says the time has come for the social sector to take some risks and get out of its comfort zone – instead of simply waiting for technologies to filter down to its target beneficiaries. With blockchain, he says, social entrepreneurs "can redraw how industries work, not just create the latest in an endless series of mission-driven service providers."
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Could religious institutions be major drivers of financial inclusion? This new report seems to suggest so
Nigeria is a largely religious society and one where citizens depend on religious social structures, it is not surprising that the study seems to suggest such an approach.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mexico’s new government wants fintech, banks to help financial inclusion
Arturo Herrera, one of two future deputy finance ministers, said in an interview that the lack of financial inclusion was one of the biggest obstacles in the new government’s fight against poverty, inequality and slow economic growth.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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Report: Mobile devices and merchant transactions are driving financial inclusion
In a new report, the company forecasts that mobile merchant transactions by unbanked individuals will grow from 1.8 billion per annum in 2018 to 3.8 billion by 2023.
- Categories
- Finance
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A nearly cashless Zimbabwe tests the limits of mobile money
Currency depends on trust and confidence. Years of economic crises in Zimbabwe have left all three in short supply, spurring a boom in “mobile money” – an industry that is revolutionizing banking in Africa.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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M-Pesa puts Safaricom on Fortune’s ‘Change the World’ firms listing
The American multinational business magazine says the mobile money transfer service Safaricom and Vodafone launched in 2007 now claims more than 30 million customers in 10 countries, mostly in remote areas far from banks.
- Categories
- Finance, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: Impact of digitisation: The new rural reality
Rural India contributes a substantial part of the total net value added in many sectors, with an overall 46% contribution to Indian national income.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Banking on the Unbanked: Assessing True ‘Creditworthiness’
The combination of advanced fintech with off-grid solar solutions has been a winning combo for Colibrí, a social enterprise devoted to promoting energy access in rural Nicaragua. Its Fácil-Pago technology, powered by Angaza Design, has succeeded partly thanks to the business' approach to an often-difficult financial task: responsibly assessing the credit-worthiness of unbanked customers. Morgan Babbs, Colibrí founder and CEO, explains why the approach to calculating credit-worthiness has resulted in exceeding low default rates among other advantages.
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