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Benin is the latest African nation taxing the internet
The new law has been denounced, with citizens and advocates using the hashtag #Taxepamesmo (“Don’t tax my megabytes”) to call on officials to cancel the levy. The increased fees will not only burden the poorest consumers and widen the digital divide, but they will also be “disastrous” for the nation’s nascent digital economy, says ISF’s executive director Julie Owono.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Tanzania’s Nala wins Ecobank Fintech Challenge
After being named overall winner of the annual challenge, which is run annually by Ecobank and was last year won by Nigerian fintech startup IroFit, Nala walks away with US$10,000 in prize money.
- Categories
- Inclusive Fintech
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Facebook launches Instagram Lite — a stripped-down version of the app for emerging markets
Instagram Lite is aimed at emerging markets which typically are dominated by lower cost Android devices. Users in these countries have limited data plans and that's where Lite versions of apps become important.
- Categories
- Technology
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Top 7 African taxi-hailing apps giving Uber a run for its money
Regulators in other countries continue to shun Uber but the company continues to lead the market in Africa since its entry in 2013.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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This idea helps empower the marginalized
Haqdarshak is a mobile and web technology platform that works on the delivery of scheme benefits to citizens.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Mobile money-saving app Qapital raises $30 million to spend on growth
Qapital, one of a slew of mobile applications trying to make it easier for users to save money (and spend it more wisely), has raised $30 million in fresh financing as it expands beyond savings to offer investment advisory services.
- Categories
- Inclusive Fintech
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Amazon’s Internet is a new lightweight browser app for emerging markets
The aptly named app is the latest product to emerge from Amazon, and it’s an Android web browser meant specifically for emerging markets. On Google Play, the full name of the app is “Internet: Fast, lite and private,” and it promises to be “lighter than the competition.”
- Categories
- Technology
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This Agricultural Guide On A Phone Helps Increase Developing-World Farmers’ Yields
“A lot of smallholder farmers are very poor and they wait until it’s too late because they don’t want to spend the money,” says Leesa Shrader, who leads work on DigiFarm for Mercy Corps, one of several groups developing the platform. “The cow dies and they’ve lost an $800 asset, which can be devastating to the families. With DigiFarm, they can pull the training when they want it.”
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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