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Grab Raises $300 Million for Fintech Arm’s Ambitious Expansion
Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery giant Grab has raised more than $300 million from investors led by South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management Co. Ltd for its rapidly-expanding financial services business.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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Ensuring That Women’s Financial Access Is Not Another Casualty of COVID-19: The Value of Agent Banking
As COVID-19 continues to ravage global economies, the existing gender-poverty gap is set to widen: UN Women projects that for every 100 men aged 25-34 in extreme poverty due to the pandemic, 118 women of the same age will be living in extreme poverty this year. Peris Mburu at FSD Africa explores why agent banking is a promising solution to this growing challenge – and how its benefits can extend beyond access to finance.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Umba, a Digital Bank for Emerging Markets, Raises $2 Million Seed Funding to Expand Across Africa
Umba, a digital bank for emerging markets and aiming first at Africa, has secured a $2 million seed funding round from new investors including Lachy Groom, ex-Head of Issuing at Stripe; Ludlow Ventures; Frontline Ventures and Act Venture Capital.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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2020 MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTICLE CANDIDATE: When Inclusion is Not Inclusive: What Needs to Change to Achieve Meaningful Financial Inclusion for Women
India has achieved impressive growth in women's financial inclusion — recent statistics show that 79% of the country's women are financially included. But according to analysts at MSC, there are troubling questions about whether these women are truly benefiting from their newfound financial access. They discuss why financial inclusion often fails to impact female customers, and how viewing financial services for women through the lens of gender centrality could help.
- Categories
- Finance
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A Paradigm Shift for Fintechs: Why a Coherent Data Strategy Has Become a Business Necessity
The global increase in internet access has led to an explosion in digital data, with 33 zettabytes produced in 2018 alone – a number predicted to increase to 175 zettabytes by 2025 (1 zettabyte is 1 trillion gigabytes). Meanwhile, the advent of machine learning and the Internet of Things has changed the way businesses process this information. Analysts at MicroSave (MSC) explore how fintechs can leverage this new data and analytics technology to obtain a competitive edge – and to benefit their customers.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Transaction Volume for Direct Debits Jumps by 54% as More Nigerians Adopt Usage
FINANCIAL SERVICESTransaction volume for Direct debits jumps by 54% as more Nigerians adopt usage
A recent Banking Sector Report by the NBS has disclosed that direct debits increased by 54% in Q3 2020.- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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With Investors Expecting a Latin America Cryptocurrency Boom, Mexico’s Bitso Raises $62 Million
Six years after the launch of the Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange and financial services platform Bitso, the company revealed it has closed on $62 million in financing to capitalize on the cryptocurrency boom investors expect to hit Latin America.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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$500 Million Asian Development Bank Loan to Expand Financial Inclusion in Indonesia
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million policy-based loan to support the Government of Indonesia's efforts to expand financial access among micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and marginalized groups such as women and youth.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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