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The Digital Cloud that Hangs Over Every African Farm
The African continent is at the forefront of the mobile revolution, with nearly 700 million mobile phone accounts — more than in the U.S. and Europe combined. Africa has also become the world leader in mobile banking. But mobile phones and even mobile money accounts do not amount to digital financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Tigo Tanzania Launches Innovative Nano Lending Scheme to Its Mobile Money Customers
Tigo Tanzania has today announced that it will launch an easy to access nano lending product to its stable of mobile financial services. This new product will not require collateral and offers immediate access to small loans to Tigo Pesa users.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Weekly Roundup: Nano Lending Under the Microsope and A Bond to Fight Diabetes
This week Tigo announced it will launch collateral-free nano loans to customers through its Tigo Pesa mobile financial platform in Tanzania. The unsecured loans will average $10,000 Tanzanian shillings (US $5). Is this the lift "nano lending" needs? Plus, Israel begins a new social impact bond to fight diabetes, what it could mean for financing global health.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- mobile finance
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Big Data isn’t Enough: We Need an ‘All of the Above’ Strategy to Drive Innovation in Financial Inclusion
Researchers love talking about their data and methods as a “toolbox,” and with the rise of big data, they’ve got a fancy new tool. However, the reason for carrying a toolbox is that there are very few projects where just one tool, no matter how powerful, is sufficient to get the job done. It’s necessary to recognize the weaknesses of big data as well as its strengths, and to think about what other types of data are needed to complement it.
- Categories
- Technology
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NexThought Monday: Why Digital Wallets Stay Empty – and Six Ways Providers Can Help
In emerging economies throughout the world, people have flocked to mobile payment solutions, whether it’s to send money home, facilitate informal business transactions or pay bills. Yet most digital accounts are empty and serve mainly as a pass-through for such payments, which limits the transformational potential of mobile money. Here are several factors which make digital accounts an illogical store of value for people with low and uncertain incomes, and six ways providers can address this issue.
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- Uncategorized
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Five Reasons NGOs and Social Enterprises are Going Cashless
With over 250 services deployed in 89 countries worldwide, mobile money has enjoyed explosive growth among consumers in emerging markets. But digital payments are also transforming the work of development-focused organizations, many of which are shifting their bulk payment systems from cash to digital. This post explores the far-reaching organizational and financial benefits of this approach.
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- Uncategorized
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PayPal plans Latin America growth with América Móvil alliance
PayPal is teaming up with Mexican telecommunications giant América Móvil as it looks to expand in Latin America.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
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More phones, few banks and years of instability are transforming Somalia to a cashless society
In the streets of Mogadishu, the future has arrived: cash is disappearing, credit cards are unnecessary, and daily shopping is speedy and digital.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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