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From Smart Meters to ‘Water ATMs’: Innovative Solutions to Bring Water Services to Rural Africa
An estimated 663 million people lack access to clean and safe drinking water in the world today. Innovations such as smart metering services are being tested to enhance access to water. However, these solutions have not been widely adopted across Africa, except at some water vending points. George Muruka at MicroSave explores how these innovations can be scaled up to the household level.
- Categories
- Technology, WASH
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Fixing Financial Inclusion’s Gender Gap: Fast-Growing ‘Community of Practice’ Seeks Solutions
One billion women living in the poorest 40 percent of developing-country households remain outside the formal financial system. A persistent gender gap in developing countries in account ownership rates suggests that efforts at financial inclusion are not reaching women. In an effort to change that, CGAP recently launched the Women’s Financial Inclusion Community of Practice to bring together practitioners, funders and policymakers.
- Categories
- Finance
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Viewpoint: Why I believe the US State Department is wrong about mobile money in Africa
The US Department of State recently released a report that identified mobile money services as particularly susceptible to money laundering in Africa. It cites services like M-PESA and M-Shwari as “services [that] remain vulnerable to money laundering activities”.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Funny money in Myanmar’s fintech sector
A prominent mobile money company appears to be flaunting regulations aimed at providing consumer protections in the burgeoning sector.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech, mobile finance
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Control vs Ease of Use: Low-Income Customers Weigh In on Financial Services
Automated 21st century financial tools, such as bill pay, are meant to make life easier. But for low-income customers and those with uneven cash flow, the need for control of their money can outweigh these benefits. Kristen Berman and Brad Swain of Duke University's Common Cents Lab try to reconcile this seeming contradiction.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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The Future of Microfinance is Mobile: FinTech Resolves Three Key Obstacles of Lending to the Unbanked
The microfinance industry has arrived at a new inflection point, according to Frederic Nze, CEO and founder of U.K.-based digital microlender Oakam. Those businesses that are slow to embrace the transformative power of smartphone technology will feel the full force of disruption over the next decade while access to fair, affordable retail financial services will flourish for consumers and small enterprises the world over.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Want to Boost Financial Inclusion? Pay Interest on Mobile Money
E-money has been the principal means of increasing access to financial inclusion. Yet most accounts in emerging markets are used only to receive government payments that are then quickly withdrawn as cash. Ross P. Buckley, Louise Malady and Cheng-Yun Tsang say that one way to tackle this problem, and to promote financial inclusion, is to pay interest on e-money.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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3 ‘model countries’ selected for a new financial inclusion initiative
“The three countries selected were chosen based on potential for country programs, level of national government and private sector commitment to financial inclusion, number of people that could be reached through digital financial services, and potential for reforms to encourage innovation and digital technologies use,” read a statement issued Thursday.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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