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Why Alternative Lending Struggles to Scale in Emerging Markets – And What Fintech Companies Can Do About It
Fintech models have proliferated in most developing countries, but alternative lending has struggled to gain scale. That's why FIBR, a project by consulting firm BFA in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, is bringing together fintechs and banks to use networks of small businesses – shops, clinics and even local schools – to deliver digital financial services to low-income customers.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
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WhatsApp reportedly in talks to integrate with a mobile payment platform in India
Late last year, India ceased circulation of its two highest-denomination bank notes in a bid to tackle the flow of money associated with corruption and terrorist activities. The move fuelled the popularity of mobile wallet solutions, such as Paytm which has amassed over 200 million wallet users, providing a significant incentive for Samsung to integrate the service with Samsung Pay in time for its Indian launch.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Feature phones made a comeback in Africa as smartphone growth slowed last year
After a decade of strong growth, the expected crossover of smartphones finally overtaking feature phone usage in Africa did not happen last year. In fact, feature phones had a bit of a surge. Smartphone shipments to the continent grew by only 3.4% year on year—a sharp slump compared to double-digit growth rates recorded in recent years according to data from IDC, a technology research firm.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- economy, mobile phone, technology
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Vodacom launches mobile solutions for expecting mums
Vodacom through one of their platforms, Siyakha which means ‘we are building’ in isiZulu, has launched a mobile solution called Mum and Baby that offers maternal support to expectant mothers.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Nuru AI chatbot helps to solve day-to-day problems in Africa
In the Western world, everyone is talking about messaging apps and chatbots. Now, users in Africa and other low-income countries can use chatbots instead of text messages to ask questions.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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India has a new biggest telco thanks to $23BN merger
India has a new largest mobile network operator and it's all thanks to a $23 billion merger of two former rivals. The Vodafone Group announced on Monday that it was merging its Indian operations with competitor Idea Cellular to create a new giant in India's telco space, boasting over 400 million customers.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Calls from rivals for higher charges by Safaricom rejected
Proposals by Airtel and Telkom Kenya that could have seen Safaricom forced to charge its customers higher rates than its rival telecommunications providers have been rejected by consultants hired to assess competition in the sector.
- Categories
- Financial Inclusion, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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