-
The Father of M-Pesa on Being Innovative in Africa
Nick Hughes is known for being at the forefront of innovation in Africa. He is responsible for founding and developing the M-Pesa mobile payments service in the mid-2000s while working at Vodafone. Today the platform is hailed as one of Africa’s top success stories. Over 70% of the Kenyan population uses M-Pesa, and other markets – such as Tanzania – are showing strong adoption.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Why Zuckerberg, Gates And Omidyar Are Investing in Fintech for the Poor
According to a report published in early September, Facebook is currently considering acquiring mobile money giant M-Pesa that launched in Kenya in 2007. While the news is not yet confirmed, it could be a sound deal for Facebook in terms of their presence in the sphere of online-remittances (what Facebook Messenger and other messengers are trying to develop right now) and projects like Internet.org to provide people from unbanked and emerging markets with access to digital services, which Zuckerberg has promoted a lot in the past.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, impact investing
-
International Lenders Battle to Keep Up With Kenyan Rivals as Mobile Borrowing Turns Into a Craze
Six broke university students were sitting in a room at Maseno University back in 2013, discussing how best to spend their Friday night.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
-
New GSMA Study Projects Almost One Billion Mobile Subscribers India 2020
India is expected to see a significant uptake in mobile subscriptions, broadband and connectivity by 2020, marking a period of rapid development of the country’s mobile economy, according to a new GSMA Intelligence study published today. The new report, ‘The Mobile Economy: India 2016’, noted that at the end of June 2016, 616 million unique users had subscribed to mobile services in India, making it the second-largest mobile market globally, with almost one billion unique mobile subscribers1expected by 2020. India also overtook the United States in 2016 to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market with an installed base of 275 million devices.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
-
What Digital Finance Means For Emerging Economies
Financial services are the lifeblood of an economy, enabling households and businesses alike to save, invest, and protect themselves against risk. Yet in many emerging economies today, the majority of individuals and small businesses lack access to basic savings and credit products, which hinders economic growth and perpetuates poverty.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Center for Financial Services Innovation Unveils Framework for Responsible Industry-Wide Sharing of Consumer Financial Data
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) today released its guide for the responsible sharing of consumer financial data: "Consumer Data Sharing Principles: A Framework for Industry-Wide Collaboration."
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- fintech
-
Chemonics and BanQu Partner to Test Blockchain’s Potential to Eliminate Poverty and Improve Aid Effectiveness
On October 17, 2016, international development consulting firm Chemonics and technology company BanQu established the Blockchain for Development Solutions Lab. The lab represents the first concerted effort by a development company to build, test, and scale blockchain solutions to reduce poverty and increase aid effectiveness.
- Categories
- Technology
-
Ecobank Launches Ecobank Mobile App to Transform Banking in Africa
Ecobank (Ecobank.com) has launched the Ecobank Mobile App, an instant and convenient way of banking via the mobile phone. It is the first unified app delivered by any institution for use in 33 countries. Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi unveiled the new App at a large product launch in Lagos, which brought together a wide range of customers, including students, various professionals, traders and transporters. Ecobank board members, shareholders, staff and media were also present at the event.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.