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Fintech is Not Enough: Why Startup Investments in Africa Must Diversify Across Sectors
Africa is often considered one of the world's largest untapped venture markets, and this potential has fueled interest in the region's tech startups. But as Elo Umeh of Terragon Group explains, though investments have been increasing, they have typically focused only on certain sectors, like fintech and off-grid tech. He explores the value in diversifying these investments across other growing industries, including edtech, agritech and martech, and urges founders and investors to extend their resources to build a robust and complementary technology ecosystem on the continent.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Facebook and Twitter Weigh Giving a Social-Media Megaphone to the Taliban
Facebook, Twitter and Googles actions will have lasting impacts on the diplomatic stage and on the lives of everyday people in Afghanistan.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation Launch a Blockchain Bootcamp for African Startups, Offering Prizes up to 20,000 USDC for Most Promising Solutions
DFS Lab in collaboration with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has launched a call for applicants for a Blockchain Bootcamp, designed to give early to mid-stage startups in Africa an opportunity to build on Stellar, an open-source blockchain network for financial services and products.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Five Ways To Use Media To Challenge Social Norms: Lessons From Kashf Foundation’s Innovative Use of Television for Social Impact
While researching organizations that are making a social impact through narrative storytelling, producer Lara Storm spoke with Roshaneh Zafar, president and founder of Kashf Foundation, a Pakistani microfinance organization that also produces popular television shows focused on challenging harmful social norms. Zafar shares five lessons from Kashf’s success, which provide a useful foundation for other organizations that are exploring social impact through entertainment.
- Categories
- Finance
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Viewpoint: As Facebook looks to WeChat, China’s digital world is wowing the West, and globalisation is no longer a one-way street
With even Silicon Valley giants like Facebook learning from the hyperconnected WeChat universe, the investment in data and AI by the Chinese state and companies is paying off.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Meet The App That’s Empowering The Women Of Myanmar To The Bank
Financial inclusion is a topic of growing importance in countries such as Myanmar, where advances in tech are rapidly changing the dynamics in how people access financial products. As I wrote in 2016, fintech companies are capitalizing on Myanmar’s rapid development and increasing smartphone and internet penetration by offering digital financial products.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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After 10 successful investments, Micromax starts $100 million fund
India’s prominent smartphone maker Micromax is launching an investment fund of up to $100 million to invest in consumer Internet companies relevant to the Indian market. Named Orbis Capital, the fund will raise money from Indian and foreign private equity firms and pension funds. The fund’s advisory board will have prominent entrepreneurs like Nami Zarrighalam, Founder of Truecaller, and renowned investor Perry Blacher among others.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Pokemon Go: Health Gains of Exergames
Augmented reality game Pokemon Go, which took the world by storm, seems to have found an unlikely supporter in the medical fraternity. Banned by parents for the longest time, games like Pokemon Go, played on the smartphone, could actually be beneficial as it encourages a physical activity regimen combined with fun, a study shared exclusively with TOI says.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia