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How Artificial Intelligence Can Simplify International Development Research: An Intriguing Experiment (Involving NextBillion)
International development professionals must often spend a great deal of time trying to keep up with news, trends and research about their area of activity – and this requires a lot of manual labor. But much of this can now be automated and aided by artificial intelligence (AI). Jacob Rosen and Ashirul Amin at BFA explore how they used AI to sort and categorize a vast amount of development-focused content online, using NextBillion's 5,000+ article library as a test case. The results of their experiment show how AI can help people reduce time and labor and learn more efficiently.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Ghana Is Now the Fastest-Growing Mobile Money Market in Africa
Ghana provides a unique case of governmental commitment to create a suitable working environment for innovation.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Return of Michael Joseph at Safaricom
Following his appointment by the board as the interim CEO, Kenyans on social media argued that the company should have appointed a Kenyan, with one of the firm’s executives trending on Twitter.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Amazon and Google Are Helping Western Union Fight the Multibillion-Dollar Fintech Threat
The 168-year-old Western Union is the leader in international money transfers, generating revenue of $5.5 billion in 2018 and doing business with Amazon and Google.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- fintech, remittances
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Viewpoint: Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency Could Be Great, if Not for Facebook
Libra is the evolution of that early goal, now with grander ambitions. Facebook wants to completely reshape how people make online payments. By detaching from currencies like the U.S. dollar, Libra could bring instant, low-cost digital payments and transfers to anyone with a phone
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Creating an Inclusive Fintech Ecosystem? Here Are Three Facts Accelerators Should Consider
BFA's Catalyst Fund started with one goal: to support early-stage inclusive fintech entrepreneurs in developing accessible, high-quality and relevant financial solutions for the underserved. After three years of operations, the accelerator has worked with 20 startups across 13 emerging markets, helping to create better credit, payment, insurance, savings and investment solutions that improve the financial health of people with low incomes. Maelis Carraro and Rasima Swarup at BFA share some of the fund's lessons on how to build an inclusive fintech network.
- Tags
- fintech
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As Tech Cold War Looms, Chinese Internet Giants Like Alibaba and Tencent Tackle Emerging Markets
Chinese internet titans are entering an era of global expansion, another phase of their exponential growth.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech
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African Fintech Dominates Catalyst Fund’s 2019 Startup Cohort
The organization announced its 2019 startup cohort and three out of the four finance ventures — Chipper Cash, Salutat and Turaco — have an Africa focus (Brazil-based venture Diin, was the fourth).
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
