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After Day 50: The Results From India’s Demonetization Campaign Are In
On the same day that Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, India also received an unexpected, earth-shattering announcement. However, theirs wasn’t of a disruptive, unconventional presidential candidate coming to power but of a disruptive new policy that would instantly shake up the lives of 1.25 billion people, rich and poor alike. At 10 p.m. on November 8th, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that on the stroke of midnight all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes — 86% of the currency in circulation — would cease to become legal tender.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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China Launches $1.5bn Fintech Fund
A consortium of Chinese state-owned companies and private enterprises has created a $1.44 billion investment fund dedicated to fintech mergers and acquisitions.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Bangladesh government plans to strengthen Grameen Bank
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the government plans to strengthen Grameen Bank further so that the Nobel Prize winning microcredit lender becomes more relevant in changing times.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Mexico’s Largest Bank Acquires Fintech Payments Startup Openpay
BBVA Bancomer, the largest financial institution in Mexico, has acquired Openpay, a payments Fintech startup based in Mexico that enables real-time payments for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises. The acquisition comes after a collaborative partnership between the bank and the Openpay which saw the bank benefit by increasing its range of online payments solutions.
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- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Mobile Payments Outgrow Smartphones in India
With the government push for cashless transactions, after the demonetization of high-value currency notes, the electronic payments data released by the Reserve Bank of India presents an encouraging shift towards digital payments. The adoption of non-tradition digital payment mechanisms, i.e., payments made using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for mobile communications, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and e-wallets is evident from the growth in volume of transactions and their value, albeit on a low base.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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India’s Largest Mobile Wallet App Paytm Gets Regulatory Nod to Operate Its Own Payments Bank
India’s largest mobile wallet service now has its own payments bank. Paytm announced today it has received regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India for launching Paytm Payments Bank, a move that "changes everything" for the company.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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World Bank Invests in Myanmar’s Financial Inclusion, $100M in Credit
The World Bank established the Financial Sector Development Project to support Myanmar’s SMEs — the latest sign of progress in the country’s economy.
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- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Aavishkaar to raise $150 million fund for Africa investments
Impact investment firm Aavishkaar Venture Management Services (AVMS) plans to raise up to $150 million to invest in Africa, said a senior executive. “We are looking to raise between $100 million and $150 million for the African fund. We will start the fund-raising around the middle of 2017 and we expect to close it in 2018,” said Vineet Rai, founder of Intellecap-Aavishkaar group.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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