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Bharti Airtel to acquire Tata’s money-losing mobile unit for nothing
India’s telecoms market, with 1.2 billion mobile subscribers, is in the midst of a wave of consolidation as smaller debt-laden players seek exits after overspending in airwave auctions.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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It’s about to get cheaper for over 500 million Africans to roam on their phone networks
Even as lower smartphone prices drive a digital revolution in Africa, many Africans still pay a significant amount of their income to make phone calls or surf the internet. According to the World Bank, Africans pay on average 25% of their monthly gross national income per capita in mobile cellular calls, compared to 11% in other developing nations.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Power of SMS: How Simple Texts Can Provide a Lifeline for Farmers
Last month, nearly 3,000 coconut farmers in Mindanao received a text from FarmerLink warning that conditions were ripe for infestation by two devastating insect pests, allowing them to take preventive action. That's just one way SMS messages are being used by FarmerLink, a rural advisory service formed by Grameen Foundation and other partners. The foundation's Gigi Gatti explains how the project, which also connects farmers with buyers and other services, is impacting smallholders 18 months after its launch.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Designing a Mobile Wallet for Nonliterate People: A Beginner’s Guide
There are about a billion adults in the world who can neither read nor write, but they manage to participate fully in the economy. As fintech evolves, the financial services sector must keep this significant population in mind. Vivek Anand and Saborni Poddar of MicroSave explore what designers should keep in mind when devising a mobile wallet interface for literate and illiterate customers alike.
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- Inclusive Fintech, Technology
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Will Crowdfunding Become a Big Deal in India?
Crowdfunding — the practice of raising small amounts of capital from a large number of people to fund new ventures — is finally gaining traction in India. The question is: Will it deliver like it has in other markets?
- Categories
- Inclusive Fintech
- Region
- South Asia
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Africa a guinea pig for the feasibility of digital payment systems
The term “leapfrog” is popular among Africa tech analysts, who point to how the continent embraced mobile phones at a time when few African countries had a properly developed fixed-line network.
- Categories
- Inclusive Fintech, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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No Internet? No Problem: Turning a Feature Phone Into a Digital Library Can Transform Lives
The cycle of poverty in developing countries is real and often riddled with misinformation. That's why the 3-2-1 Service on simple feature phones – which functions like a search engine without the internet – is so important. And people are willing to pay for it. This not only changes how users engage with their phone but also how international development agencies can engage with users to improve livelihoods.
- Categories
- Education, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Why We Broke Up the Company: A Former CEO of M-Agri Pioneer Esoko Explains
After a rapid revenue increase and the development of a mobile commerce platform, Esoko saw that it had some challenges balancing its very different product lines. Former CEO Hillary Miller-Wise walks us through the m-agri pioneer's decision to spin off into two companies.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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