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Tidal launches in Africa—in countries known for banning music
In partnership with Africa’s largest mobile company MTN, Tidal announced its presence with a launch party in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Aug. 22. The music and video service was already available on the continent. This is the first time it’s specifically targeting African subscribers.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Phone monopoly is big prize in Ethiopia sell-off
“Everyone is here. MTN is here, Safaricom. I mean everyone is coming,” the new head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) said of the stiff competition to enter the previously off-limits telecoms sector.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Google to sign Internet deals with Kenya telcos
Google, through its Project Loon, has embarked on a global campaign to increase internet connectivity among the millions of people living in rural areas without ground stations and fibre connections.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Failing to Scale: Fixing Common Missteps in mHealth Ventures
Telemedicine or mHealth systems have great potential to bolster fragile health care systems in the developing world. However, these programs often fail to survive beyond the pilot phase. A team at the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program at Penn State studied 35 telemedicine and mHealth projects and discovered six recurring reasons for failure to scale. Program director Khanjan Mehta offers solutions to some common missteps.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Amazon vs Google: A race to capture India’s consumer space
Unfriendly policies and homegrown behemoths have made it difficult to breach Beijing. The US, the home market, is saturated. India, on the other hand, is inviting.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Behavioural Nudges: Mildly Paternalistic or a Threat to Economic Justice for the Poor?
"Nudges” – ie: the use of behavioral science insights to steer human behavior – are increasingly seen as a cheap and effective way to achieve social goals. But according to social researcher Sally Brooks, there are some troubling questions about whether the use of nudges for business purposes is good for the poor. She explores the issue through the prism of digital financial inclusion in the era of fintech and big data.
- Categories
- Inclusive Fintech, Investing
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Digital Remittances: Now that they’re here, where are they headed?
Economic migrants send US $600 billion back to their home countries each year, most using expensive "traditional" agent networks, despite the availability of cheaper digital channels. But Xavier Martin Palomas with the Digital Frontiers Institute notes that in the past five years, we've seen a new wave of players and a renewed push toward digitizing remittances. Next month the Digital Frontiers Institute will launch its first course, Remittances in the Digital Age, to study the rapidly changing industry.
- Categories
- Inclusive Fintech
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From New York to Madagascar: Why I Moved My Fintech Startup to Africa
“Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” That Mike Tyson quote rang true for Sidharth Garg, who was forced to go back to the drawing board after his Manhattan-based fintech startup's chatbot failed to engage customers. But that setback soon became an opportunity: Garg explains how shifting focus from the U.S. to Madagascar set the company on a new path to growth, in the latest post in NextBillion's "Course Correction in Social Enterprise" series.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Inclusive Fintech
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