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A Well-Timed Investment: How Investing in Tech-Driven Healthcare SMEs Is Boosting Africa’s COVID-19 Response
COVID-19 has highlighted the urgent need to strengthen healthcare systems in countries around the world. And according to Kristin Kelly Jangraw at USAID INVEST, funding promising healthcare technology companies is one way to do so. She explores how an investment in an innovative local enterprise is improving the pharmacy supply chain in Nigeria and Kenya.
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- Coronavirus, Finance, Investing
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World Economic Forum Recommends Adopting Clear and Actionable Cybersecurity Guidelines for Fintech Firms
The Fintech Cybersecurity Consortium has been tasked with identifying how organizations can simplify their baseline cybersecurity requirements for Fintech services.
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- Finance, Technology
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Do Surveys Fall Short? Solving the Challenge of Predicting Mini-Grid Energy Usage in Africa
Half of Africa’s population is living without electricity, and mini-grids could connect at least 100 million of these 600 million people. But mini-grid developers struggle to profitably serve these potential customers, due in part to the difficulty of accurately forecasting their electricity demand. Analysts at CrossBoundary explore why this process is so complex and prone to inaccuracy, why surveying customers is often ineffective – and what can be done about it.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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An African Solution to the Digital Skills Gap: Preparing for the Future of Work in Emerging Markets
With the rise of artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing, the nature of work is transforming. But while many focus on the possible downsides of these changes, like AI-fueled job loss, Becky Santora at Digital Divide Data points out some upsides as well. She explores the new technical and analytical skills necessary in the work of the future – and how emerging markets workers can prepare themselves.
- Categories
- Technology
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Experts Tout Benefits of AI, Machine Learning in Global Health Crisis
From helping doctors make diagnostic decisions to preventing disease outbreaks, artificial intelligence (AI) brings excitement in improving global health while posing serious privacy concerns, experts have said.
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- Health Care, Technology
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Facebook’s AI Team Maps the Whole Population of Africa
“The maps from Facebook ensure we focus our volunteers’ time and resources on the places they’re most needed, improving the efficacy of our programs,” said Tyler Radford, executive director of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, one of the project’s partners.
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- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Don’t Fear the Algorithm: The Risks and Benefits Of Machine Learning in Finance
Billions of people around the world lack access to basic financial services, and far too many promising entrepreneurs are deprived of financial opportunities simply because they don’t have a credit history. As JUMO founder and CEO Andrew Watkins-Ball sees it, this lack of access is fundamentally a technology problem – and machine learning can help solve it. But algorithm-assisted banking is not without risks: Watkins-Ball discusses its benefits and downsides, and how it's powering JUMO's work in Africa and Asia.
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- Finance, Technology
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Machine Learning in PAYGo: What You Need to Know Before You Jump In
Machine learning is an exciting technology with plenty of potential applications in social impact business. But as Jacob Winiecki at BFA points out, the hype around the approach may make it tempting to jump in without first determining if it's the right tool for the job. He offers a clear run-down of how machine learning actually works in practice, along with three concrete steps for how a PAYGo enterprise can implement the technology, based on the work BFA’s FIBR Project has done with ZOLA, a leading PAYGo solar operator in Africa.
- Categories
- Energy, Finance, Technology
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