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Meet the Agritech Entrepreneurs Who Just Raised $6 Million to Help Farmers in Kenya Grow Their Business
Our research Powering Youth Employment through the Mobile Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025 found that as of 2018, the mobile industry directly employed 1.2 million youth (three out of five people) in the informal sector, in roles predominantly associated with distribution (e.g. airtime resellers). We also estimated that by 2025, total direct employment in the sector will grow by 26%, accounting for 2.4 million jobs, 500,000 of which will be new jobs.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Orange Extends Africa Remittance Links
Orange added Morocco and Burkina Faso to the list of mobile money destinations its customers in France can remit funds directly to, a move it stated would cut consumer costs and increase the speed of transactions between the markets.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mobile Money Providers Score a Major Win – But Are They at Risk of Losing it All?
According to the GSMA’s recently launched 2019 State of the Industry report, mobile money achieved some major milestones last year: There are now more than 1 billion accounts, and for the first time, the majority of transaction values are digital. But according to Arunjay Katakam, mobile money providers will soon face a new challenge that could upend their industry, as internet-based "over-the-top" payments providers are poised to transform the competitive landscape.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Greenlight Planet partners with telecom operators in sub-Saharan Africa
Greenlight Planet, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar service provider, has partnered with telecom operators in Africa to recognise the natural synergy between the telecom and pay-as-you-go solar industries. The initiative is in line with the company’s aim to pursuing a telecom-focused strategy to have a far-reaching impact on more than 600 million unelectrified consumers across the African continent.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Inclusive Fintech in Practice: Chipper Cash Illustrates Three Keys to Tackling Cross-Border Payments in Africa
Though the mobile money revolution has reshaped East Africa, only around 8% of the region's residents actively send or receive payments across borders. Akansha Kasera at BFA’s Catalyst Fund discusses how Chipper Cash is addressing the need for cross-border transactions through a simple, affordable payments platform. She breaks down what's driving the platform's rapid growth – and what other providers can learn from it.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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A Decade in, Why the Pay-As-You-Go Solar Sector is Maturing and Brightening
This month marks nine years since Jesse Moore and Nick Hughes first sketched out a plan for M-KOPA - one of the early leaders in the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar market. Since then, M-KOPA has installed PAYG solar systems in over 750,000 African homes, and now receives over 30 million customer micropayments per year, writes Moore. He estimates that PAYG solar will soon reach over 10 million customers and surpass a billion dollars in cumulative revenue – but he cautions that the industry should gird itself for a wave of consolidation as it embarks on its second decade.
- Categories
- Energy, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Perspective: Will Facebook Make Crypto Relevant For The Underserved?
Earlier this month, the WSJ reported that Facebook is building a team and getting its crypto ducks in a row to launch a “cryptocurrency-based payments system on the back of its gigantic social network.” Public details on the effort are thin and may have been outshone by news that one of Facebook’s co-founders is calling for the company to break up. But the fintech world is predictably aflutter about the perils and opportunities of a brand new digital coin that could allow users to hold and send money safely and securely to nearly every socially networked person on the planet.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Mexican central bank in talks with Amazon about new mobile payments
The payment system, known as CoDi, is being built by central bank Banco de México, known as Banxico. CoDi will allow customers to make payments online and in person through smartphones free of charge using QR codes.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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