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New GSMA Report Sees Rise in Mobile Broadband and Smartphone Adoption Across Middle East and North Africa
Mobile broadband networks will account for 61 per cent of mobile connections by 2020, up from 41 per cent today, across the diverse Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to a new GSMA report published today at the GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Middle East conference in Dubai. The new study, ‘The Mobile Economy – Middle East and North Africa 2016’, highlights that there are currently 339 million unique mobile subscribers (Q2 2016) across the region’s twenty five markets1, a figure expected to rise to 385 million by 20202. The number of smartphone connections3 has also more than doubled over the last three years to reach 263 million in Q2 2016, accounting for 42 per cent of total connections, and is forecast to reach 467 million by 2020. The availability of mobile broadband networks has increased smartphone adoption and is helping to bridge the digital divide and usher in innovative new mobile services.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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USAID Launches Catalyst to Drive Cashless Payments in India
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday announced the launch of a new initiative “Catalyst: Inclusive Cashless Payment Partnership” (www.cashlesscatalyst.org).
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Financial Inclusion Week Starts Today – Here’s How You Can Participate
It's Financial Inclusion Week 2016 – a research and advocacy project that brings together nearly 40 organizations and stakeholders around the world to host events and share insights on advancing financial inclusion. This year, the conversations will focus on keeping clients first in a digital world, a theme which aims to bring clients to the forefront of the fintech discussion.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Is the Time Finally Ripe for Bitcoin Remittances in Africa?
When the words Bitcoin and Africa appear in a sentence, the word remittance usually follows. When Bitcoin first hit the mainstream in 2013, its low-cost money transfer feature was hailed as the solution to the overly expensive remittance costs charged by the large money transfer operators (MTOs), Western Union and MoneyGram. This is especially true when it comes to transferring funds to Africa.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, remittances
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German Lender MyBucks Eyes Kenya Banking Licence in Race for Clients
German micro-lender, MyBucks, is eyeing a deposit-taking licence from the Central Bank of Kenya in a bid to grow its local clientele base.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Can mVisa Give Ecocash a Run for Its Money?
Mobile payments have become an increasingly important and viable option in Zimbabwe’s payments landscape due, in part, to the prevailing cash shortages and government’s quest to enhance financial inclusion.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech
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Mobile Money Meets Microcredit: Three Key Decisions in Taking a Concept from Design to Pilot
SAJIDA Foundation in Bangladesh is using evidence from data analytics, business case analysis and client research to improve cross-selling as part of the OPTIX project. Three key evidence-based programmatic decisions were necessary to take a new mobile financial service-based microfinance initiative from the design table to being piloted in the field.
- Categories
- Finance
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US Fed Explores Blockchain Use Cases With Industry Participants
The Federal Reserve has established a working group that is exploring financial innovation across the broad range of its responsibilities and engaging with industry stakeholders to discuss the ways in which the payment system could be improved considering the new wave of innovation including distributed ledger technology.
- Categories
- Technology
- Tags
- blockchain, fintech
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